Making a clean splash – ensuring London’s waters are ‘swimmable’

None of London’s rivers currently achieve ‘good’ status in the Environment Agency’s official testing, based on the EU’s Water Framework Directive.¹ This assesses overall river health under two main categories, chemical health – which considers pollutants in the water - and ecological status – which measures what is living in the river, and how modified the waterway is.²

In his manifesto for the May 2024 elections, the Mayor stated that he would “launch an ambitious plan to make rivers in London swimmable within ten years.”³

The London Assembly Environment Committee carried out an investigation into the Mayor’s plans for ‘clean and healthy waterways’, seeking to understand the key challenges and barriers to ensuring London’s rivers are pollution-free and possible for Londoners to enjoy safely.

The Committee has today published its report - Swimmable rivers: Towards clean and healthy waterways in London - calling on the Mayor to set ambitious and transparent targets for improving specific sites, including designating four new sites as bathing waters by 2028 and a further six by 2034 with a clear delivery plan, by year.

Other recommendations for the Mayor in the report include:

• Ensuring that funding for improvements to London’s rivers and waterways is clear and transparent.
• The Greater London Authority (GLA) should work with Thames Water and other partners to set out key actions between now and 2034 to reduce sewage pollution, including from sewer overflows and misconnections
• Target designating four new sites as bathing waters by 2028 and a further six by 2034 with a clear delivery plan, by year.
• The Mayor should host a ‘one-stop shop’ page on the GLA website to link to all key water safety information in one place.
• Contributing funding for a ‘misconnections officer’ to help Councils speed up enforcement action to compel people to ensure their wastewater is correctly plumbed into the sewer system and doesn’t end up in local rivers.
   

Zack Polanski AM, former Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee, said:

“The Mayor’s plans to clean up London’s waterways in 10 years is something we all want to see become a reality.

“We heard throughout our investigation the important role access to rivers and waters can have on people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

“Too many of London’s waterways are blighted by pollution, leaving them in a dreadful state. It's totally unacceptable that none of London’s rivers are at the standards needed or expected.

“To meet this goal, it is important the Mayor brings together all the stakeholders across the capital to ensure the plan meets its target.

“We are calling on the Mayor to drive forward this plan by targeting improvements to designate four new sites as bathing waters by 2028, a clear and tangible target which Londoners can see as progress in the plan.

“If the Mayor is to achieve this ambitious target, we urge him to ensure our recommendations are considered as part of the wider plan, and we can see our waters enjoyed by Londoners for generations to come.”

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