How to make good decisions about paddling considering water quality

How to make good decisions about paddling considering water quality

Ensure your paddling plans go ahead by making informed decisions on where to paddle to stay safe

Water quality is at the forefront of all water users’ minds at the moment. When you go paddling you don’t want to become ill from the water you’re paddling on. We have so many beautiful waterways to paddle in the UK. Instead of missing out on paddling them, there are ways to monitor the water quality to know where and when to go paddling. Paddle UK is working hard alongside other watersports to campaign for cleaner waters. You can read more about the work we are doing here

In this article we’ll look at 

  1. What can affect water quality in the UK
  2. How you can monitor the water quality where you paddle
  3. Other ways to keep safe
  4. Different options for where you can paddle

kayakers on good water quality

What can affect water quality in the UK?

Water quality for paddling in the UK can be affected by a variety of factors.

  • Heavy rainfall – this can wash pollution into the water, either via sewage overflows or due to run off from farmland. This can mean harmful levels of Escherichia coli and Intestinal enterococci bacteria in the water.
  • Water temperature – water temperatures in the UK are often pretty cold. During the summer months, when the temperature goes up, algae can bloom. Much of this is harmless green algae but blue green algae can be harmful to humans and animals. Look out for the paint-like appearance and iridescent blue green colour. If you can’t tell, carefully insert a stick into the water and remove, if it comes out covered in what looks like green paint it is likely blue green algae. As the Paddlers’ Code advises, if the water looks or smells bad, don’t enter. Report incidents of pollution to the Environment Agency as soon as possible.
  • Presence of rats and other animals – many animals share the space around our waterways. Generally, we love having them around! However, some animals can carry a bacterial disease called Weil’s Disease, or Leptospirosis. Humans can catch this by it coming into contact with cuts and abrasions or by being splashed in the mouth, nose or eyes. The symptoms are very similar to flu and can occur anytime up to three weeks after paddling.

How can you monitor the water quality where you paddle?

You can reduce the chances of getting sick doing the thing you love, by making use of information that is increasingly available online..

You can do this in a number of ways:

  1. Check the storm overflow maps for the water company in your area. Each water company now publishes near real-time data for overflow incidents. Knowing when and for how long sewage has been discharged into the water you’re planning on paddling can help you make a decision on whether to go. Read more about the storm overflow maps and find your local one here
  2. If the place you’re planning to SUP, kayak or canoe is a Designated Bathing Area, you’ll be able to find information about the water quality on the gov.uk website. This is mainly relevant for coastal areas but there are more and more inland waterways being added to the map.
  3. The Rivers Trust Sewage Map shows where the sewerage network discharged treated sewage and overflows of untreated sewage and storm water into rivers in England & Wales in 2023. Although this isn’t live information it allow you to track water quality over time for your waterway. 

Other ways to keep yourself safe 

There are a few other things you can do to help keep you healthy when out paddling

  1. Don’t drink the water – take fresh drinking water with you when you paddle.
  2. Wash your hands/use anti-bacterial gel – before eating or drinking make sure you wash your hands, or use anti-bacterial gel to clean them.
  3. Cover cuts and abrasions – make sure you pop a waterproof dressing on any wounds.
  4. Check Clean DryAlways check, clean, & dry your kit after each trip. Washing and drying all equipment is key to helping stop the spread of invasive, non-native species and possible pollutants. Bio-Mate is an easy-to-use portable cleaning kit that removes mud, weed and sand from paddling equipment to get everything clean, dry and bio-secure before you leave the waterway. Paddle UK members will receive a discount when purchasing a kit from the bio-mate website using their exclusive code in the members dashboard.
  5. If you become sick – even if it’s a few weeks after your paddle, make sure you see your GP and let them know when and where you paddled.
  6. Become a Paddle UK memberjoin us in campaigning for change and protecting our waterways!

Different options for where you can paddle

If you decide you’re not happy with the water quality where you were intending to paddle there are always other options to explore. Our Paddlepoints map and Paddling Trails will give you a Plan B (and many other plans beyond!), so you can pack up your paddles and discover new places to explore!

Water quality tips infographic