Concerns have been raised before the men’s and women’s Boat Races between Oxford University and Cambridge University on Sunday after testing found high levels of the bacteria E. coli in the River Thames.
The Boat Race, which was first staged in 1829, is a rowing event which takes place every year between students from two of the UK’s elite universities over a 4.25-mile stretch of the Thames in west London.
Testing by the environmental campaign group River Action discovered high levels of the potentially harmful bacteria E. coli throughout the stretch of water which will host the latest edition of the Boat Race this weekend.
In a statement on Wednesday, River Action warned that the Thames would be classified as ‘poor’ under environmental regulations if it were designated as a ‘bathing water’ site.
Despite minimal rain — which can lead to water companies releasing untreated effluent into the rivers to avoid sewage overflows — since River Action began testing for E. coli on March 10, almost 30 per cent of samples exceeded safe limits for entering the water, almost three times the threshold for bathing waters rated ‘poor’.
A total of 41 samples were taken at key points between the start of the Boat Race course in Putney and the finish at Chiswick Bridge, where…
