The application by Farleigh & District Swimming Club for their river swimming site along the River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford to be designated as an official Bathing Water has been approved by DEFRA after a public consultation (see the announcement and reports here). This is very good news.

I met the club last year (with Cllr Dawn Denton), sent letters of support and obtained official support from Somerset Council (via cllr Sarah Dyke before she was MP) for the bid. Designation of the site as a bathing water recognises the river as legitimately used for swimming, and will require official monitoring of water quality for human health to be undertaken weekly by the Environment Agency, and publicised. Public information signage will need to be installed with the help of Somerset Council (I am liaising with the new club chair Tony Smith on this).

This should also mean more investment is made to improve water quality at the designated bathing water by reducing polluting discharges into the River Frome, as Wessex Water should now need to take account of the designated bathing water in their future investment plans.

Wessex Water already undertake informal bacteriological monitoring at Farleigh Hungerford as part of an investigation of water quality at the Warleigh Weir downstream (see here), but official designation as a Bathing Water means monitoring by the Environment Agency for bacteria during the bathing season (May to September), and information on water quality must be publicised.

Farleigh & District Swimming Club was founded in 1933, has parking, toilets and changing facilities, and around 5000 members. Please see the club’s website and news page or email farleighclub@gmail.com to find out more or get involved.

(Above – me with cllr Denton and the swimming club in 2023, including then-Chairman Rob Fryer who very sadly passed away last year after decades of dedication to outdoor swimming – please see here for the tributes to Rob).