Wild swimmers in Shrewsbury can now make better-informed decisions about river safety through an expanded regional pilot project, which monitors river water quality on a daily basis.
The Environment Agency has installed high-tech autonomous sensors in the River Severn at Shrewsbury, to remotely provide daily readings on bacteria levels including E. coli.
Last week, the Shrewsbury data was launched on the Shropshire Wild Bathing app, allowing river users to check current water quality conditions and decide when it’s safe to swim. The water quality data is automatically uploaded every hour onto the app developed by the River Severn Partnership.
Bacteria sensors and sondes take automatic water quality readings from the River Severn.
The daily readings complement existing weekly statutory monitoring throughout the bathing water season from 15 May to 30 September. The Environment Agency takes over 7,000 samples at 451 designated bathing waters across England during this period.
Martin Quine, Environment Agency Place Manager for Shropshire, said:
This project is important because it enables users of the bathing site to make informed decisions on when they access the river.
It’s also important for us to get the data to understand where pollution is coming from, so we can target our work to those places where it will have maximum benefit.
The project expanded to Shrewsbury after the success of the River Severn Partnership’s research and development initiative in Ludlow earlier this year, which has also resumed this month.
Environment Agency and River Severn Partnership colleagues at Shrewsbury bathing water. (Left to right) Matt Smith – River Severn Partnership Programme Manager, Tom Coekin – Environment Agency Water Quality Specialist, and Martin Quine – Environment Agency Place Manager for Shropshire.
The research project has accelerated the Environment Agency’s understanding of how bacteria in rivers behave throughout the year, and particularly during the bathing water season. The data helps us better understand and identify sources of pollution, and will inform possible future methods of managing bathing waters.
Funding has also been secured to extend the research project to Ironbridge in 2026, demonstrating the government’s commitment to exploring innovative water quality monitoring methods to improve water quality monitoring and public safety.
Wild swimmers can download the Shropshire Wild Bathing app to access up-to-date water quality information for Shrewsbury and Ludlow. Check Swimfo for information on all designated bathing waters across England.
This initiative supports the government’s Plan for Change commitment to building a cleaner, healthier environment for communities across the UK.
Background information
-
The River Severn Partnership is co-chaired by Shropshire Council and the Environment Agency. There are many member organisations in the partnership – find out here: Who’s involved? River Severn Partnership
- The Shropshire Wild Bathing app was developed by the River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) and Wolf Logic. The app is available to download on Google Play store or Apple App Store. The app has received over 1,000 downloads so far.
-
The RSPAWIR, managed by Shropshire Council, has been awarded £4m of funding from the Department of Science, Industry and Technology, to support the growth of wireless innovation and technology in some of its key economic sectors.
-
Shropshire’s bathing water sites (Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Ironbridge) were designated in May 2024.
- The Environment Agency is using a Fluidion Alert 2 bacteria sensor for the daily bathing water testing in Ludlow and Shrewsbury. This data has provided insight into the baseline bacteria levels in the river.
