Sewage fears at Wallingford Beach as it reopens for summer

Wallingford Beach, known locally as Sandy Bay due to the stretch of sand on the river bank next to Wallingford Bridge, was designated as a bathing place in 2024.

This means the Environment Agency must take weekly water samples from the site during the warmer months, from May 15 to September 10, and test them for two types of bacteria which can cause serious illness.

READ MORE: A361 Banbury: Motorcyclist injured in crash as one arrested

The results are published within a few days of each test, on a dedicated page online, but many have said they wouldn’t go for a splash even with the bacteria levels being monitored.

One anonymous local said: “I wouldn’t let my dog swim in the river, let alone human members of my family.”

Wallingford Beach was one of just two inland river bathing sites in the country to be rated ‘sufficient’ last season, an improvement on its first ever rating of ‘poor’ in 2024.

Wallingford Beach on the River Thames (Image: South Oxfordshire District Council)

But would-be river users aren’t impressed with the rating.

Another anonymous person commented: “Seriously we need to clean up the rivers. How can a council have a bathing area on the Thames? The river is basically an open sewer.”

It comes after Channel 4 documentary Dirty Business revealed the scale of sewage pollution in waterways in Oxfordshire, based on the work of the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution.

Oxfordshire county councillor for Wallingford, James Barlow (Green), said while he still swims it is ‘disgraceful’ that measures have to be taken to avoid getting ill.

READ MORE: M40 driver caught speeding at 116mph in Oxfordshire

Mr Barlow said: “There are many stretches of the Thames that are clean enough for bathing.

“For us in Wallingford, Bathing Water Status offers not just regular testing but also the legal mechanisms to force Thames Water to clean up its act to make Wallingford Beach consistently clean enough to swim in, by, for example potentially installing further treatment operations at Benson Sewage Treatment Works which would likely lead to improvements.

Oxfordshire County Councillor James Barlow (Image: GARETH CLARK)

“Along with others, I have been regularly and safely swimming in the Thames at Wallingford, year-round, for years, and continue to do so. I understand residents’ scepticism about swimming at Wallingford Beach.

“That the bathing water quality is officially only ‘sufficient’ is a real cause for concern – the impact on nature, including humans is unacceptable.

“As a result, we take sensible precautions – like showering afterwards and not putting our faces in the water. It is disgraceful that we need to do this.”

The councillor added that he, amongst many others, continues to campaign for the Government to force companies like Thames Water to clean up its act and would see the water companies brought back into public ownership.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Last year, Wallingford Beach was rated ‘sufficient’ in the Bathing Water Quality report, one of only two inland river bathing sites in the country to receive this designation.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire parents warned as popular play park closes

“There were no storm overflows from Thames Water sites within 5km of Wallingford Beach during the last bathing season. 

“We are always committed to seeing waterways thrive, but we can’t do it alone. Farming, industry, road runoff, and increasingly extreme weather also play a role in river health. 

“We will continue to work closely with the Environment Agency and local partners to understand where improvements to our assets might be required in future, so that communities can continue to enjoy the bathing water.”