News & Updates

The Office for Environmental Protection has published a review of Bathing Water regulations in England today, 14 November. The report includes a case study of our campaign at Conham River Park (p.80-2), which is used to illustrate the tensions often present between the bathing water regulations and the rights and restrictions in common law and local by-laws.

The report reads: “There appear to be some cases, however, where such [swimming] restrictions imposed on the basis (in whole or in part) on the grounds of protecting human health against protection could have the effect of preventing designation of a bathing water. This in turn could create the circularity that there is then little or no incentive or legal basis to improve the water quality for the purposes of protecting human health.”

Bristol City Council passed a motion on river pollution discussed during the Full Council meeting today, 12 November.

The Golden Motion, put forward by the Liberal Democrat councillors, was entitled “Save our Rivers: Stopping the Sewage Scandal” and sparked a series of passionate, supporting speeches by councillors from all parties, some of whom referred to our campaign and citizen science data.

The motion passed unanimously, with 57 councillors voting for it to be taken on by the environment committee.

Conham Bathing campaigners joined the national March for Clean Water on Sunday, 3 November. Louis Inglis, of HANA News, covered the march in a feature published today. He spoke to Charlotte (Conham Bathing member and director of Rave on for the Avon):

“Film maker Charlotte Sawyer has been following the Conham campaign and recently released a documentary titled Rave On for the Avon. She was filming the March for Clean Water for her upcoming feature the Wye Way.

She told HANA News in Parliament Square: “I’m here trying to tell intimate, human stories of people who love the river. There’s a bit of a funny place that we’ve got to where rivers are seen as this resource, but everyone who’s fighting to protect rivers don’t. They see them as something beautiful that deserves protecting.”

Today we officially launch our Thriving Avon Charter, which sets out the rights of the River Avon.

Earlier this year, we ran a public consultation to help compose the charter, which also includes rights listed in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers.

We now invite river guardians from all walks of life to sign and uphold the river’s rights to the best of their ability.

The launch of our Thriving Avon Charter was exclusively reported by the Guardian in both its online and print editions.

Jamie Grierson writes “Conham Bathing, an advocacy group made up of women in their 20s and 30s, has launched the Thriving Avon Charter in a move to raise the profile of rights for rivers.

The move is inspired by campaigners worldwide who have secured legal personhood or “rights of nature” for rivers such as the Whanganui in New Zealand, and in the UK with the Ouse in Lewes and the Dart in Dartmoor.”

Becca was featured alongside Surfers Against Sewage and Save Windermere in today's World at One episode on Labour's upcoming bill and manifesto promise to bolster the power of water regulators.

Speaking to Sarah Montague, Becca says "It's just such a gamble, because most of the time the water [at Conham] seems completely beautiful and lovely to swim in, but at other times we become ill from swimming in it"

Today we met with Labour MP for Bristol East, and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Climate, Kerry McCarthy to tell her about our campaign and to discuss how we can improve water quality in Bristol and beyond.

We look forward to engaging with councillors and MPs of all parties in Bristol to keep river pollution on the agenda and ensure real progress can finally be made.

Eva was interviewed on the Today Programme about the terrible water quality of the Avon this summer:

"The last couple of samples have shown really high levels of faecal bacteria. So that is bacteria which shouldn't naturally occur in the river. It is indicative of the presence of sewage or maybe agricultural runoff."

Our campaign group was interviewed in the final instalment of The Times’ series exploring river pollution in the run-up to the national election this summer.

‘I am on the final stage of a river-level election trip along the Bristol Avon’ writes Damian Whitworth, ‘which last year was affected by more sewage spills than any other river in the south of England.’

Image: Jack Hill

The BBC published an article about our campaign and the soft launch of our Thriving Avon Charter, which we presented todayto city councillors and local residents after the final preview screening of Rave on for the Avon. (We will be sharing more information about the charter very soon!)

Journalist Chloe Harcomb writes ‘The group's work has been endorsed by former Bristol mayor, George Ferguson, and comedian and actor, Jayde Adams.’

Image: Jack Hill

Our campaign was featured in an article published by the Outdoor Swimming Society.

Patrick Nayor writes ‘Since 2021, the Conham Bathing Group have tried to secure Bristol City Council’s permission to apply for DBWS, but the Mayor has refused to give his permission due to the existence of a local byelaw which prohibits swimming – even though Conham River Park is a well-known swimming spot.’

Following the sell-out premiere of Rave on for the Avon at Pytch in March, the documentary is due to have more screenings across Bristol over the coming months.

The next screening will be on 24th April at Bristol Aquarium’s former IMAX screen.

Tickets are available via the link below.
Note: an early-bird rate applies until 11th April!

Bristol 24/7 shared the Guardian analysis in an article published today, 2nd April.

Mia Vines Booth writes: ‘[the Avon] is the only river in the south of England to feature in the worst ten, coming behind the River Darwen near Blackburn and Preston.

Wessex Water, whose catchment area takes in the River Avon, said the high number of sewage spills was due to the fact that 2023 was the fourth wettest year since records began.’

Image: Martin Booth

According to new analysis published in the Guardian, the Bristol Avon is the 3rd most polluted river from sewage in England, and the most polluted in Southern England.

The article also features a postcode search tool so readers can find out how their local waterways rank in sewage pollution.

Last night, the sold out Bristol premiere of Rave on for the Avon was held at Pytch’s Box7 warehouse venue. The feature-length documentary film, produced by Eighty Sita Productions, follows our campaign over the last few years, together with Lindsey the mermaid’s impressive Bristol Channel crossing, the Save our Avon river wedding held last summer, and a whole host of stories of Bristolians’ individual relationships with the river.

During the Q&A following the film, Director Charlotte Sawyer shared that she "wanted to capture the spirit of Bristol - people not accepting the status quo, taking things into their own hands, and doing it with creativity and flair.”

Joining the Q&A were Conham Bathers Becca Blease, Em Nicol and Eva Perrin and campaigner Johnny Palmer, mc'd by Co-Producer Aggie.

Our campaign for Designated Batiing Water Status was covered in an article published in the BBC today, 23rd March.

The article features an interview with Conham Bathers Eva and Emma.

‘Dr [Eva] Perrin, an expert in freshwater ecology, said that DBWS would be "a mechanism for wider change".

"We just don't have enough data to understand the impact of sewage on the ecosystem," she said.

"Rivers are such dynamic systems, with so many inputs throughout the whole catchment basin that can affect any given bathing site."‘

Image: Louis Inglis

This morning, Thursday 14 March, Becca (founder of Conham Bathing) and Charlotte (director of Rave on for the Avon) were interviewed live on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

Discussing her aims for the film, Charlotte said “I wanted to capture the love that people have for the river but also the love they feel back when they engage with it”

Becca shared that “no campaign group starts simply because they enjoy being angry. It starts because they love a river, they cherish it, and they feel a joy from it.”

Listen back to the interview via the link below (2 hours 25 minutes into the programme)

Bristol 24/7 published an article about the upcoming Bristol screening of Rave on for the Avon.

‘It was [Charlotte] Sawyer’s love and admiration of this small section of the River Avon in St George and a growing sense of frustration at the illnesses it is linked to, that inspired the filmmaker to create a feature-length film documenting how people are reclaiming the beauty spot and campaigning for it to be made safe.’

Eva was interviewed in this month’s issue of Outdoor Swimmer magazine. In an article written by Rowan Clarke, she talks about how she first got involved in the campaign during her PhD and has now gone on to work for Surfers Against Sewage while continuing her campaign work:

“Conham’s important to me, so I ended up tying together my love of water with my academic background and got involved with this community group..”

This weekend we joined the Bristol branch of the Right to Roam (R2R) campaign in a litter pick on the banks of the River Avon at Eastwood Farm Nature Reserve.

Following the floods, the riverbanks have been inundated with plastic pollution. We found cans and bottles, food packaging, plastic bags, used vapes, and even old phone batteries.

Becca spoke to the group about how our campaign for better river water quality has come up against water access issues.

Our campaign was featured on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme today, 4th January, in the first of what will be a whole series spotlighting the River Avon over 2024. Becca was interviewed by journalist Emily Knight on New Year’s Day, in which she spoke about our fight to improve water quality and preserve access to the Avon for the whole community who cherish it.

The interview aired at 8.22 on the 4th January. Listen back at 2hr 22 mins via the link below.

A feature-length documentary about the Bristol Avon had its world premiere at Kendal Mountain Festival this weekend, Friday 17th November 2023.

Charlotte Sawyer directed the film, which follows both our campaign and the myriad communities who love and interact with this wonderful river.

The film will have a Bristol release in spring 2024, and we are so excited for more of you to see it. Stay tuned!

Both Eva and Becca from Conham Bathing gave talks today at Surfers Against Sewage’s first Bathing Water Conference.

Eva spoke about the power of citizen science to raise public awareness of river pollution issues, while Becca spoke about how bathing water campaigns can represent your community.

It was a fantastic day meeting other bathing water campaign groups from across the country who are speaking up for their rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Read more about the event on SAS’ webpage.

We were hoping to hold a paddle litter picking event on the Bristol Avon on Sunday, 16th July 2023. However, given the recent sewage alerts we’ve already had, and the rain forecast over this weekend, we have made the decision to postpone this event.

We hope to be able to hold the event in August, if the weather is a little brighter and the river is safe to access.

To keep up to date with sewage alerts in this stretch of the Avon, regularly check our sewage data page (via the link below)

The Bristol Cable covered the Save our Avon day in a recent online edition. Reporter Louis Inglis writes about campaigner and artist Megan Ruth-Trump’s wedding ceremony to the Bristol Avon. Conham Bathing members Emma, Eva and Becca (pictured) were also in attendance and spoke to the publication about the campaign.

‘Conham Bathing are now entering their third summer of testing, and manage an online database tracking sewage spills into the Avon between Bristol and Bath’ writes Inglis.

Bristol 24/7 published an article on 20th June about the recent sewage spills at Conham River Park during the peak bathing season.

Mia Vines Booth writes “If the council was to designate Conham River Park bathing water status, the area could be protected from further sewage spills down the line.”

Campaign founder Becca spoke to Jon Yeomans at the Sunday Times about why she started the campaign for designated bathing water status at Conham.

“I didn’t know much about overflows or that they had become common practice,…I was outraged when I found out.”

Image: The Sunday Times

On 20 May, ocean and river activists gathered at many sites across the UK to take part in Surfers Against Sewage “paddle out protest” against sewage pollution. Emma and Lindsey joined the protest at Warleigh Weir (along with 80 others!), whilst Eva headed up the protest at Bedford.

Image: Earth Minutes (Instagram: @earthminutesuk)

Becca was interviewed by BBC Bristol host James Hanson about the upcoming bathing season at Conham and the lack of official water quality testing at the site.

Becca and Eva joined One Love One Planet host Shona Jemphrey for a chat about the campaign, including some of the achievements and obstacles so far, and our hopes for the future.

The Bristol Cable published an article about our new sewage data tool.

‘Wessex Water has released untreated sewage into the River Avon near Conham River Park for more than 200 hours already this year, according to a new data tool’ writes reporter Billy Stockwell.

Image: The Bristol Cable

The Bristol Post published an article covering our response to the mayor’s disappointing statement.

Reporter Tristan Cork writes ‘‘[The mayor] went against a 5,200-signature petition and the unanimous cross-party support of all the councillors in Bristol and said he would not be altering a byelaw which prohibits anyone swimming in the River Avon or the Floating Harbour.’

Image (still): Bristol Live

The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, published his decision on 3rd of November that he will not support the amendment of the 2009 City Docks bye-law, which prohibits swimming in the River Avon at Conham River Park, despite a petition by the Conham Bathing campaign group receiving over 5,200 signatures and gaining unanimous cross-party support at the Full Council meeting on 18 October.

The Bristol Cable covered the council debate in their online news, writing ‘[at] a full council meeting this week, councillors from all parties voiced support for calls to scrap a rule banning swimming in the river, which could lead to the water at Conham River Park getting cleaner.’

Image: The Bristol Cable

Today, 18 October, Conham Bathing members Becca and Eva joined Surfers Against Sewage in Westminster as they delivered their national petition to government demanding 200 river bathing waters by 2030.

51,689 signed the petition to demand action for our inland blue spaces.

The BBC also covered the full council debate in their online news this evening.

‘The [Conham Bathing] campaign has had vocal backing, and dozens of swimmers danced on College Green in an event called Rave on for the Avon’.

Bristol 24/7 published an article about this evening’s debate, as well as the swimming rave held on College Green. ‘Protesters donning swimming caps and bathing suits held a mini rave outside City Hall.’

Journalist Mia Vines Booth noted the positive support for the campaign from city councillors: ‘Members of Bristol’s Labour Group pledged their support for the petition…’

Read the full article below.

Image: Rob Browne / Bristol 24/7

The Bristol Post published an article about the upcoming debate on our petition at today’s Full Council meeting.

Image: The Bristol Post

Last year, we asked the public what they think about designating this stretch of the river as a bathing water. Over 900 people responded, many of whom gave thoughtful and considered narrative responses. Click the link below to visit our survey webpage and read the full report.

The Bristol Cable highlighted our petition in their weekly round-up of news in Bristol.

Image: The Bristol Cable

This afternoon, campaign coordinator Becca spoke to Steve Yabsley from BBC Radio Bristol about wild swimming, public safety, and our petition urging Bristol City Council to drop the swimming ban and support our campaign against sewage pollution in the Avon.

Listen from 2:37:35 via the link below to hear the full interview.

Our petition has ended with over 5,200 signatures!

3,500 signatures are required to trigger a Full Council debate, meaning our petition will be debated at one of the Council’s upcoming meetings.

Thank you so much to everyone who has signed, shared, and tirelessly promoted our campaign. Whilst we await further details of the debate, please contact your local councillor explaining why you support our petition and what the river means to you.

The BBC published an article about our petition reaching the required 3,500 signatures needed for a Full Council debate.

The Bristol Post published an article about our petition reaching the required 3,500 signatures needed for a Full Council debate.

Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC.

Bristol 247 published an article about our petition reaching the required 3,500 signatures needed for a Full Council debate.

Image: Martin Booth/Bristol 247

The Bristol Post published an article about our petition demanding Bristol City Council to support our DBWS bid.

Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC.

The Bristol Cable spoke to Conham Bathing member Becca about the recent setback to our campaign when the Council refused to support our bathing water application. Beyond designated bathing water status, they discuss whether a system of legal rights for rivers could be beneficial in the fight against pollution.

Image: The Bristol Cable

The BBC has reported on our campaign and, in particular, our petition demanding Bristol City Council to support our fight against sewage pollution. The article features an interview with Eva, who discussed sewage pollution with BBC Radio Bristol presenter Claire Cavanaugh yesterday.

Claire Cavanaugh interviewed Eva about our sampling programme, water quality issues in the UK, and our hopes for a bathing water designation at Conham River Park.

Listen from 3:12:00 to hear Eva’s interview!

Bristol 24/7 has published an article covering the surge of support for our petition.

‘Campaigners are not giving up their fight to address the growing problem of raw sewage pollution in a much-loved swimming spot.’

We have launched an online petition demanding Bristol City Council to support our bathing water application and to amend the bye-law prohibiting swimming in the river.

If the petition receives 3,500 signatures, it will be debated by the full council.

Please sign and share throughout your networks!

Bristol 24/7 has published an article on Bristol City Council’s refusal to support our bathing water application.

As Ellie Piper reports, ‘The blow to the campaign comes in the week the newly-formed Office for Environmental Protection launched an investigation into the regulation of combined sewer overflows going into our waterways and England’s chief medical officer declared sewage pollution a public health issue, stating water companies are not doing enough.’

Bristol City Council has confirmed that, due to local bye-laws, it will not be supporting our application for Designated Bathing Water Status. As the landowner, we require the Council’s support to submit an application to Defra.

While we are very disappointed by this news, we will continue sampling the river and informing the public about sewage pollution incidents.

An article published by iNews on Tuesday lists Conham Bathing among the community groups nation-wide who are campaigning for designated bathing water status for inland waters.

(Images: Neville Dowley; The Rivers Trust)

Our water sampling data was included in an investigation of sewage pollution in the River Avon conducted by The Bristol Cable .

(Image: The Bristol Cable)

Our survey received over 900 responses from the public, many of whom gave detailed and thoughtful narrative responses. We are incredibly grateful, as this will go a long way in supporting the application for designated bathing water status. Outcomes of the survey will be published in due course.

Last Thursday, members of the Conham Bathing group met with Wessex Water to launch 12 weeks of weekly water sampling at Conham River Park. Whilst not required for an application for designated bathing water status, we believe this is vital information for the public, and will demonstrate a need for greater enhancement and protection of the water quality of the Bristol Avon.

Two members from our project group, Eva and Becca, were interviewed live on BBC Radio Bristol today. Host John Darvall asked them about the aims of the campaign, their thoughts on the Swim Bristol Harbour campaign, and wild swimming in general.

Our campaign was featured in an article published by Bristol 24/7 on Thursday, 17 June 2021. The article mentions the growing public concern around sewage pollution of UK rivers, and the lack of data available to those who wish to bathe outdoors.