Responding to the news that the River Thames at Ham and Kingston is the first-ever officially designated bathing water site on the River Thames in London, Munira said:
“The news that our stretch of the river will be part of London’s first-ever official bathing spot is wonderful news for all of the swimmers, kayakers, paddle boarders and rowers who love and enjoy our precious river.
“I’m grateful to local campaigners like the Teddington Bluetits and the Ham and Kingston Bathers for their tireless efforts to make this happen,” added Munira.
Munira supported campaigners’ efforts to obtain bathing water status, and submitted a letter of support as part of the consultation (read Munira’s letter here).
“Now, I urge the Government to go even further to ensure the highest levels of water quality in our river by scrapping Thames Water’s controversial sewage recycling proposals at Teddington once and for all. Then we can finally say with confidence that we have done our utmost to ensure the clean, healthy water that people and wildlife need and deserve.”
Thames Water’s Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) proposals would replace river water with treated sewage at Teddington Lock. Munira, residents and local campaigners are concerned about the environmental impact of these proposals, including on human health, biodiversity, wildlife and water quality.