we do! for the wild swimmers here in ilkley, this river is a lifeline. my wife died nearly seven years ago and i used to come swimming as often i could because that was the way of getting into a social circle where you didn t talk about death or anything like that. it was my escape. but beneath the surface there is a problem. we are keeping our heads above the water. i wouldn t want to put my head in this because i think the risks are too great. just half a mile away, raw, untreated sewage is regularly released into the river. so this is where it comes out, down here. it s just a grille, so it means that solids can come out as well. in an effort to have their river cleaned up, campaigners here lobbied to have this stretch of the wharfe officially designated as a bathing site. that means the environment agency has to test and monitor the quality of the water. members of the public,
this river is a lifeline. we don tjust swim together, we talk together, we drink together, we eat together, we go away together. the whole network of swimming is very, very important to my life. that was so much fun. but beneath the surface there is a problem. we are keeping our heads above the water. i wouldn t want to put my head in this because i think the risks are too great. just half a mile away raw, untreated sewage is regularly released into the river. so this is where it comes out, down here. it sjust a grill so it means that solids can come out as well. in an effort to have their river cleaned up, campaigners are lobbied to have this stretch of the water officially designated as a bathing site. that means the environment agency has to test and monitor the quality of the water. members of the public when they come to ilkley, because it is designated as bathing water they think the water is clean.
we go away together. the whole network of swimming is very, very important to my life. that was so much fun. but beneath the surface there is a problem. we are keeping our heads above the water. i wouldn t want to put my head in this because i think the risks are too great. just half a mile away raw, untreated sewage is regularly released into the river. so this is where it comes out, down here. it sjust a grill so it means that solids can come out as well. in an effort to have their river cleaned up, campaigners are lobbied to have this stretch of the water officially designated as a bathing site. that means the environment agency has to test and monitor the quality of the water. members of the public when they come to ilkley, because it is designated as bathing water they think the water is clean. the tests actually show that the water quality is poor. how do you feel then about the state of this river now? it is very frustrating we should be
i wouldn t want to put my head in this because i think the risks are too great. just half a mile away, raw, untreated sewage is regularly released into the river. so this is where it comes out, down here. it s just a grille, so it means that solids can come out as well. in an effort to have their river cleaned up, campaigners here lobbied to have a stretch of the wharfe officially designated as a bathing site. that means the environment agency has to test and monitor the quality of the water. members of the public, when they come to ilkley, because it s designated as bathing water, they think the water is clean. well, the tests actually show that the water quality is poor. how do you feel, then, about the state of this river now? it s very frustrating, we should be putting the quality of the river before the profits of water companies. the water company is investing in the wharfe. this £13 million pipe will divert much more rainwater and sewage away from the river and store it undergr
released into the river. so this is where it comes out, down here. it sjust a grill so it means that solids can come out as well. in an effort to have their river cleaned up, campaigners are lobbied to have this stretch of the water officially designated as a bathing site. that means the environment agency has to test and monitor the quality of the water. members of the public when they come to ilkley, because it is designated as bathing water they think the water is clean. the tests actually show that the water quality is poor. how do you feel then about the state of this river now? it is very frustrating we should be seeing the quality of the river come before the profits of companies. the water company is investing in the wharfe. this £13 million pipe will divert much more rain water and sewage away from the river and store it underground ready for treatment. have water companies done an unacceptable amount of ecological damage to the rivers? i don t think any water company can say