Last year, Friends of the Itchen Estuary found very high levels of E coli in the estuary. Our findings are beyond doubt and based on over 150 water quality tests, three-quarters of which have been performed by a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Over 100 of these tests have found E coli levels between 2 and 10 times higher than the level regarded by the Environment Agency as safe for swimming. We have heard many first-hand accounts of gastrointestinal and skin infections after swimming, rowing, and canoeing.
The public health risks of high faecal pathogen levels are well known, yet Southern Water refuses to make the investment needed to stop six Olympic swimming pools’ worth of sewage effluent, containing 140 trillion E coli, pouring into the Itchen Estuary from Portswood sewage works every day, all year round, rain or shine.
Please support Luke - running the Southampton Half Marathon so Friends of the Itchen Estuary can continue to hold Southern Water's feet to the fire and fight to stop Southampton's greatest blue/green space being treated as an open sewer.
All money raised will go to fund the direct costs of water quality testing.