2024-03-28 20:00:14
LONDON – The warning was stern: do not enter the water. Not because of the tide. Not because of the sharks. Because of the wastewater.
For almost two centuries, the rowers of the Oxford University have competed with their rivals Cambridge in a competition that usually ends with the jubilant members of the victorious crew jumping into the River Thames in celebration.
This year they will remain as dry as possible.
After the discovery of elevated levels of E. coli in the river, paddlers were urged to stay out of the water, cover any open wounds and wash at a dedicated cleaning station at the end.
The warning from the organizers of the annual competition known as Boat Race It is the most striking symbol of the terrible and deteriorating state of Britain’s rivers and coasts.
E. coli, which can be contracted from poorly treated water supplies, can cause a range of symptoms including diarrhea, stomach cramps and occasionally fever.
According to the British health service, a small number of people can also develop the hemolytic uremic syndromewhich can sometimes cause kidney failure and death.
No treatment
In recent years, private water companies in England have faced harsh criticism for discharging raw sewage and rainwater into waterways and beaches. when it rains a lota tactic they use to prevent the system from rolling back.
The Oxford women’s team during training on Thursday on the River Thames. Photo Andrew Boyers/Reuters
Water companies in England were privatized in 1989 and critics accuse them of paying huge sums of dividends to their shareholders. without making investments vital in infrastructure.
While campaigners have long highlighted the water quality issue, few Britons would have expected the pollution to affect the regatta, a fixture of the sporting calendar that attracts up to 250,000 spectators as well as a television audience of millions, say the organizers.
Rowers from the two former universities will compete on Saturday afternoon on the 6.9 kilometer course on the banks of the Thames, the 169th men’s race and the 78th women’s race.
The first regatta took place on June 10, 1829 in Henley-on-Thames, west London, and was won by Oxford.
However, for the next 25 years, the contests took place irregularly and, starting in 1836, in the national capital.
They became annual events in 1856.
A women’s boat race was introduced in 1927, but it was only run intermittently until the mid-1960s.
The new guidance follows testing of the Thames by River Action, a charity campaigning for cleaner waterways.
He said his tests revealed levels of E. coli up to 10 times higher to the minimum accepted standards for bathing waters.
The test sites suggested the source of pollution came from Thames Water, the local water company, which was “discharging wastewater directly into the river and its tributaries”, River Action said in a statement.
“We are in a tragic situation when elite athletes receive health guidance before a historic race on the capital’s river,” said James Wallace, CEO of River Action.
“Our water quality results show what happens after decades of neglect by an unregulated water company, Thames Water.”
The Boat Race, a company that organizes the race and was created by the Oxford and Cambridge Rowing Foundationsaid that “she and the universities involved love paddling on the Thames,” but that “water quality is a constant concern.”
In a statement he added: “We have implemented a number of precautionary measures this year to protect the health of our athletes, including guidance on covering open wounds, regular hand washing, a cleaning station in the finish area and highlighting the risks of entering the water.”
System
Most of Britain relies on a combined sewer system that pushes both rainwater and human waste along the same set of pipes.
When rain is heavy, water companies are sometimes allowed to discharge some of it into rivers or the sea to prevent pipes from overflowing, which could cause sewage to build up and flood roads and homes. .
Critics accuse water companies of spilling wastewater even in dry weather and, according to figures published on Wednesday, there were an average of 1,271 spills a day across England last year, compared to 825 in 2022.
In a statement, Thames Water, the company responsible, attributed the situation to “above-average long-term rainfall in London and the Thames Valley.”
He said the overflows were designed to operate automatically when the sewer network was about to be overwhelmed, so that diluted wastewater would be dumped into rivers instead of flowing “back into people’s homes”.
The company added that it was “working hard to make these discharges unnecessary” and had announced plans to modernize a wastewater treatment plant, in south-west London, “to treat high volumes of incoming wastewater and reduce the need for overflows during wet times.” “.
This may be of little comfort to this year’s rowers, who know that even if they take all the advised precautions, history suggests there are no guarantees they can stay out of the Thames.
In 1912, both crews were submerged due to bad weather.
The most recent sinking took place in 1984, when the Cambridge men’s boat collided with a barge before starting the race.
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