Cambridge Labour has today taken a significant step towards stopping water companies dumping sewage in the Cam. At today’s City Council Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee (5^th October 2023), Councillors voted to support the Cam Valley Forum’s application for a stretch of the river at Sheep’s Green to be formally designated as bathing water. If approved, this will place legal obligations on the Environment Agency to monitor the water quality and take action to improve it. This encompasses requirements on water companies which pollute the river to clean up their act, and it could also unlock future funding.

This comes in the context of other significant steps which Cambridge Labour has taken to preserve and enhance the river Cam and its surroundings – such as our successful bid for funding for an ambitious three-year Greater Cambridge Chalk Stream restoration project – and follows on from the Stop Dumping Sewage in our River and Chalk Streams motion proposed by Cllr Katie Thornburrow (Lab, Petersfield) and Cllr Cameron Holloway (Lab, Newnham) which was passed by the Council in July.

The motion was originally opposed by the Green Party, whose members refused to vote in favour despite the significant environmental benefits that would result. This opposition continued today, with a Green Party councillor propagating baseless and disproven claims that designation would result in a requirement for the council to actively promote swimming in the river.

In reality, designation would recognise the very large number of people that already swim in the area proposed for designation – more than triple the number required to apply for designation – and allow the City Council to raise awareness of the dangers more effectively as well as provide onsite information about the quality of the water. This is essential to improve safety and enable visitors to make informed decisions about swimming.

Cllr Sam Carling, Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services, said: “In supporting this application for a bathing water designation, we are making it clear that we won’t stand by while our river is polluted. Cambridge deserves better, for the sake of our health and that of the wildlife and ecosystems which depend on the river.”

He continued: “We are incredibly disappointed that the Green Party chose to oppose this practical step towards improving the quality of our water for people, wildlife and the broader environment. Cambridge Labour will always stand up for the right of our residents to have access to a healthy, clean river.”

Cllr Katie Thornburrow, Executive Councillor for Planning, Building Control and Infrastructure commented: “The water crisis we’re facing is not just about the levels of water we have, but also the quality – we need healthy, clean rivers and streams, and yet we have appalling levels of pollution from multiple sources that must be identified and held to account.

She continued: “Designation can help improve our waterways and empower our campaign to stop water companies dumping untreated sewage in our rivers. I am thrilled that we are supporting the application for designation, and we will continue to take bold action going forward.”

The application will now be submitted by Cam Valley Forum with the support of the City Council, and this will move forward to a consultation and assessment by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The full committee report can be found here.