Calls for action against antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Oxford rivers
Campaigners urge Thames Water and Environment Agency to address public health concerns
Members of the group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) are urging Thames Water and the Environment Agency to take action following a study highlighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Oxford's sewage effluent.
Ash Smith from WASP expressed concerns over public health risks, pointing out that Oxford Sewage Treatment Works process waste from large hospitals without special filtration.
"Anybody who knows Oxford hospitals will know how massive they are and what serious illnesses they deal with - like the Churchill Hospital deals with cancer patients - and the rivers will be taking waste from all those drugs," he said.
The group's study with an independent laboratory in Bristol found that sewage effluent, particularly when mixed with hospital waste, contains bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics.
Ash highlighted that the risk of coming into contact with antibiotic-resistant bacteria extends beyond those engaging in river activities, and the it is unlikely for people to make connections between this and illness.
"If you've got your car window open, or you're cycling by there, or you're walking by there, you're getting covered in tiny droplets from the sewage effluent," he said
"And if you go through there and you suddenly got ill and you've got some kind of a resistant bacteria, you're not going to say, 'well that's probably because I came into contact with sewage effluent' because you don't know."
WASP is calling for Thames Water and the Environment Agency to treat the sewage, for example by such as using ultraviolet, to mitigate bacterial risks to the local environment.
Ash said: "We think that it would be far better to try and stop this happening than apologise to people after they've been made seriously ill."
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Our Sewage Treatment Works operate to standards that are set by the Environment Agency. We operate in line with these standards, which doesn't routinely require disinfection or sterilisation.
“While this may be the standard that is currently set, we are part of the Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), which plays and important role in the UK’s water industry’s response to current and emerging legislation on trace chemical substances in the water environment.”
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Our role is to help create better places for people and wildlife, and drive up standards in the water industry.
“The Environment Agency works with different organisations to monitor anti-microbial resistance in rivers and to what extent.
“That work continues. We welcome citizen science as we all have a part to play in improving water quality.”