"Poor" water quality at Lancashire's newest bathing and outdoor swimming site - E coli found

Despite achieving Bathing Water Status earlier this year, The Ribble Rivers Trust, - which made the application - says there is now an urgent need for action, or it risks losing its status.

Bacteria found

The Environment Agency took water samples weekly between May 1 and September 30, and found evidence of Intestinal Enterococci (IE) and Escherichia coli (E coli) - both types of bacteria that live in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals. If ingeted, thet can cause severe stomach upsets.

While there are no active pollution risk forecasts made at this bathing water, the EA advises against swimming in it.

The Ribble Rivers Trust says action is needed to tackle the causes of the pollution that are affecting the river, but also regulatory reforms to better protect water users and hold polluters accountable.

Jack Spees, chief executive of Ribble Rivers Trust, said: “Edisford Bridge is a hugely valuable space swimmers, paddlers, and other water and is visited by thousands of users each year. This year’s poor water quality rating is disappointing but not surprising. It serves as a call to action for strengthening the regulations that underpin bathing water designations and addressing the root causes of pollution.”

The Trust says a key issue is the limited monitoring period during the bathing season. Classifications are based on samples collected over just 20 weeks each year. They say extending the monitoring period would provide a more comprehensive picture of water quality issues throughout the year and increase accountability for pollution outside the summer season.

Another challenge is the reliance on a single monitoring location. The Trust believes introducing multiple monitoring points would improve the accuracy of ratings, help pinpoint pollution sources, and provide water users with more detailed information about safety at their chosen sites.

De-designating sites

The current system also risks de-designating sites that fail to meet quality standards for five consecutive years. The Trust says this approach effectively abandons polluted sites, instead of addressing their problems, leaving local communities without access to clean water for recreation. Ribble Rivers Trust is calling for the removal of automatic de-designation, ensuring that these sites remain protected and supported rather than neglected.

Additionally, even before designation, concerns were raised about the feasibility criteria used to award Bathing Water Status. Sites deemed too polluted or too expensive to fix are often excluded, leaving many well-loved locations without the protection or monitoring they need.

“We cannot allow popular sites to be dismissed as ‘too polluted to fix,’” added Mr Spees. “If we fail to act, we risk losing spaces like Edisford Bridge to de-designation, instead of using them as an opportunity to drive accountability and change.”

Ribble Rivers Trust is also advocating for broader protections for recreational waters. Current Bathing Water Regulations also focuses solely on swimmers, overlooking other users such as kayakers, paddleboarders, anglers, and paddlers – many of whom are young children. The Trust believes that all locations with significant public use should be given the chance to improve, regardless of the perceived cost or difficulty, and supports a move to expand protections to all recreational waters.