How to find out how safe it is for a dip in the River Severn: New tech launched to help swimmers check pollution levels
Wild swimmers in Shrewsbury can now check an app for hourly updates on water quality before braving a dip in the River Severn.
The Environment Agency has installed high-tech autonomous sensors in the river in the county town to remotely provide daily readings on bacteria levels, including E.coli.
The water quality of the river in the town has been a major concern over the last few years due to raw sewage being dumped in during bouts of heavy rainfall.
People swimming in the river have reported getting ill from river pollution, and there have been countless protests from campaigners, calling for the clean-up of the Severn in Shrewsbury.
The Frankwell area of the river has had “bathing water” status since May last year, meaning it must be monitored for quality, and now even more accurate data can be checked thanks to the Shropshire Wild Bathing app.
The Shrewsbury data has just been launched on it, allowing river users to check current water quality conditions and decide when it’s safe to swim.
Swimmer Dee Hancock from Coton Hill, Shrewsbury, has been taking dips in the Severn for the last 20 years and is part of a swimming group.
She said: “We use the app. It’s great to see it being updated.
“I’ve never been ill from swimming in the river, but what this does for me is it makes me feel more confident to introduce friends to cold water swimming. It’s becoming more popular.”
The water quality data is automatically uploaded every hour onto the app developed by the River Severn Partnership.
The daily readings complement existing weekly statutory monitoring throughout the bathing water season from May 15 to September 30. The Environment Agency takes more than 7,000 samples at 451 designated bathing waters across England during this period.
The project expanded to Shrewsbury after the success of the River Severn Partnership’s research and development initiative in Ludlow earlier this year, which has also resumed this month.
The research project has accelerated the Environment Agency’s understanding of how bacteria in rivers behave throughout the year, and particularly during the bathing water season.
The data helps the experts better understand and identify sources of pollution, and will inform possible future methods of managing bathing waters.
Funding has also been secured to extend the research project to Ironbridge in 2026.
Wild swimmers can download the Shropshire Wild Bathing app to access up-to-date water quality information for Shrewsbury and Ludlow. Check environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/data.html
