Boat Race Highlights Poor Water Quality Of The Thames
The Boat Race has been a tradition at Henley on Thames since June 1829, the brainchild of Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the acclaimed poet) and Charles Merivale, two friends from Oxford and Cambridge respectively, with the event one of the most eagerly anticipated of all fixtures on the sporting calendar.
However, over the last few years, the boat race has shone a light on more than just university rowing prowess, with the water quality of the River Thames coming under fire as a result.
River quality in the 1800s
In the mid-1800s, the water quality of the River Thames was decidedly poor, beleaguered by pollution from sewage, industrial waste, urban life, slaughterhouses and so on, all of which put the health of local communities at significant risk.
Outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne illnesses were relatively commonplace, with the river badly affected by the city’s rapid growth and the lack of appropriate sewage systems seeing human waste dumped directly into the waterway.
Mounting public outcry over the matter saw a petition brought to Parliament in 1827, focusing on the dangers posed by water pollution… and the first treated public water supply in the world was introduced in 1829, with the Chelsea Waterworks Company investigating the benefits of sand filtration as a purification method.
The Metropolis Water Act was then passed in 1852, banning the use of water from the Thames for domestic use, as well as enforcing water filtration using slow sand filters… but the problem really came to a head in the summer of 1858 when hot weather and record-high temperatures exacerbated the smell of the sewage in the river, which prompted politicians to take decisive action very quickly.
And thus, the London sewage system was born, helping to improve both drinking water quality and the health of the city as a whole!
River quality in 2025
Of course, water quality of the River Thames today is significantly better than it was back in the 1800s, but it seems that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
In the days leading up to this year’s Boat Race, campaigners from River Action emphasised the point that the water quality of the stretch of river hosting the event would be categorised as poor under environmental regulations if it were a designated bathing water site.
The organisation started testing the course for E.coli on March 10th, with 29.5 per cent of samples taken exceeding safe limits for going in the water… almost three times higher than the threshold for designated poor bathing waters.
It was noted that treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants (which have no legal limits placed on E.coli levels) is one of the biggest but one of the most overlooked contributors to the pollution of the Thames.
Erica Popplewell, head of communities with River Action, said: “The Mayor of London’s vision for clean and healthy rivers is simply a pipe dream without systematic reform of the water industry and its regulators.
“Right now, if the stretch of the Thames used for the Boat Race were an official bathing site it would be graded poor, the lowest possible rating. The government’s own advice for such water is ‘do not swim.’ So, we strongly suggest that the winning team on Sunday think twice before throwing their cox in the Thames.”
Worrying trend
While none of the competitors this year have thus far come forward with any worrying symptoms post-race, falling ill after rowing the Thames is certainly not unheard of.
London-based rower Eleanor Warren, for example, told Metro how she and her crewmates all became sick at the same time after training on the river with what they call ‘Thames Belly’, adding that she wasn’t surprised to see recent test results showing high levels of E.coli bacteria in the water.
Dr Warren continued, saying: “You can definitely tell when the water is extra bad. There will be brown foam and it will be smelly. And then when we take the boats off the water, you can see that they’re covered in a thick layer of scum.”
Last year, several oarsmen on the Oxford team came down with the E.coli strain, with at least one throwing up on the morning of the race itself, so it’s concerning that it doesn’t seem as though the problem has been addressed one year on, with warnings about bacteria levels still being issued.
River Action’s Ms Popplewell noted that the public is now demanding that regulators and Thames Water improve sewage treatment infrastructure, with the company refinanced without putting the burden on billpayers so that pollution for profit can be brought to an end.
She said: “Thames Water should be put into government hands and operated for public benefit. That process could start tomorrow with the right political will by putting Thames Water into special administration and restructuring the company.”
As the matter now stands, water sustainability doesn’t appear to be a top priority for the utility company.
As River Action explains, instead of focusing on vital infrastructure upgrades, Thames Water instead chose to beg the High Court for £3 billion to stop it from going bust (while paying executives hefty bonuses), while allowing raw sewage discharges to go unchecked and while failing to invest in eco-friendly solutions.