A river in Oxford which has designated bathing status has been rated as ‘poor’ by the Environment Agency.

Wolvercote Mill Stream became the only second inland river in the UK to achieve Designated Bathing Status.

However, new data from 2022, which has now been published by the Environment Agency, has revealed that the popular swimming spot, just north of Port Meadow and one mile from Oxford city centre, has not been satisfying the agency’s standards.

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For overall water cleanliness, the bathing spot was given a ranking of 7.13 out of 10 and the water quality was judged overall as 'poor'.

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A Thames Water spokeswoman said: “Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and throughout the spring and summer period monitored by the Environment Agency in 2022, our local sewage works did not need to discharge untreated sewage at any stage. 

  “As a member of the Oxford Rivers Project, who made the application for designated bathing water status at Wolvercote Mill Stream, we’ll continue to work with our partners to understand what more needs to be done to ensure consistently good water quality in the Thames.

"We’re also aware that last year was an unusual year for river flows across the country following the hot weather periods and drought we experienced over the summer.

"This is why the Environment Agency’s assessment for designated bathing status looks at three years of river water quality results.  

 “We have planned substantial investment in our local sewage treatment works to reduce the need for untreated discharges, including a major £17million expansion at Witney, which is due to be completed in early 2024.

“At the beginning of the year we published an online map providing close to real-time information about storm discharges from all of our 468 permitted locations and this continues to be updated with information on improvements being planned for more than 250 sites across our region. 

“Addressing discharges will take time and sustained investment, however each step we take on this journey is a move in the right direction.”