The outbreak of an illness caused by a parasite in Devon has put water quality under the microscope once again. Some 46 cases of cryptosporidium have so far been confirmed in Brixham with dozens more reporting symptoms of the illness, which can cause severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and fever. Details of the outbreak followed a string of reports about how water companies have been pumping human waste into lakes, rivers and the sea, the latest of which came just last week when it emerged millions of litres of raw sewage were allowed to flow into Windermere , a Unesco World Heritage Centre.
Further data published by the Environment Agency (EA) in March showed that sewage discharged into rivers and coastal waters doubled to record levels last year. There were 3.6 million hours of spills in 2023, compared with 1.
8 million in the previous 12 months. Yorkshire Water and United Utilities in the North West were among the worst offenders. So with summer - a time when people are more likely to take a dip - fast approaching, is it safe to swim in rivers and lakes across the country? Dr Aidan J Taylor, lecturer in microbiology at the University of Reading, said all water courses contain an abundance of microbes, most of which are “perfectly safe to humans” and a natural part of our environment.
“However, there are microbes which can cause disease in humans, called pathogens, which come from a number of sources,” he told The Independent . “Waterfowl, such as duc.
