Water quality guidance  

Discover the latest water quality guidance for clubs, training centres, and participants 

Isle of white marina

Potential sources of water quality issues 

There is a wide range of potential pollution sources in the UK that can impact water quality including: 

  • Sewage pollution from overwhelmed treatment works or combined sewage outfalls (CSOs)  
  • Agricultural run-off of animal faeces and nutrient-rich fertiliser residues, along with pesticides  
  • Road run-off including tyre and brake pad particles, heavy metals etc.  
  • Industrial effluent, including that from marinas and boat yards with the latter including antifoul and other paint residues  

The RYA’s current focus is on the first issue, given the direct human health implications and our ability to influence changes in policy to counter the problem. 

Water quality testing 

Live water quality testing is already available for a range of chemical indicators. However, measuring faecal coliforms and other bacteria hazardous to human health usually requires culturing in a laboratory over 2-3 days. Simple bacterial counts will not indicate the specific species and its impact on human health. 

There is now a testing kit available from a company called Fluidion that can produce rapid results. If contamination is high then results are within an hour, if levels are lower it can take up to 12 hours. The RYA is working with our colleagues in the Clean Water Sports Alliance to better understand how clubs could use such devices. 

Many references to live reporting of water quality are really referring to data on sewage outfall activity. 

Key points 

Background risk 

Natural and man-made water bodies will always have a low-level background risk simply because they are untreated and may be contaminated through natural or human processes.   

Low general risk 

The general risk to any individual remains low, but events such as sewage discharges or excess nutrient loads can increase risk.  

Varying susceptibility to pathogens 

Different groups of people are more or less susceptible to any give pathogen. Those who regularly use the water are likely less susceptible than, say, young children who are on the water for the first time.  

Activity-related risk levels 

Different activities carry different risk levels. An open meeting with experienced sailors in benign weather holds far lower risk of illness than repeated capsize drills with trainees following a storm.  

Decisions based on judgement and local knowledge 

There is no simple way to decide whether the water you are sailing on or swimming in is safe on any given day. Decisions as to what activities should take place are inevitably based on the judgement of the organisers, which in turn is based on local knowledge. 

Advice for clubs and training centres

Collect data

Long-run data will help you to understand your local water body and how it reacts to weather and pollution incidents. 

  • Keep long-run weather data records to correlate any issues with weather patterns 
  • Sign up for discharge alerts with your local water company   
  • If you do have concerns over sewage pollution, undertake water quality testing following storms to see how the water body responds over the following days. You should test for, at a minimum, coliform bacteria and E.coli
  • Record incidents of algal blooms

Know your waters

You should include in your risk assessment your knowledge of:

  • Local potential sources of pollution such as sewage (including combined storm water and sewage) outfalls, ditches that may channel agricultural runoff, road drainage and any industrial outfalls
  • How your local water body responds to pollution incidents (e.g., how many days following a storm should you be concerned about your local combined sewer outfall) 
  • Alternative launch points should your usual location be suffering from direct pollution

Apply appropriate hygiene precautions

It may seem obvious but communicating with members about good hygiene is important to minimise the risk of people falling ill.

All water users should thoroughly wash their hands after being on the water before eating. Providing suitable washdown facilities for boats and equipment will help minimise transfer of pathogens as well as preventing the spread of invasive species.

Report

  • Report any incidents that clearly relate to sewage pollution to your local water company and keep records of correspondence 
  • Report blooms of Blue-Green Algae to the Environment Agency or via the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Bloomin' Algae App.
  • Report any other pollution concerns to the Environment Agency. 
  • If you undertake water quality testing, please submit your results via environment@rya.org.uk so that we can assess any regional issues. The Green Blue is developing a citizen science portal and information will be shared on that system in due course

Useful links

Current bathing water quality, if you are sailing in such an area, is available via: 

A wider view of river and bathing quality is available via a service from Watershed

Labs offering water quality testing at an affordable rate (it takes 3-4 days for the result).

Fluidion rapid testing equipment (this is their hand-held option, there are more comprehensive systems available).

Clean Water Sports Alliance campaign.

The Green Blue

Surfers Against Sewage End Sewage Pollution Manifesto.