LNTM 28-25 – Bathing water quality

The Environment Agency have recently announced the results of their water quality testing over the summer 2025 season.  On the Dart the results are as follows:

Totnes Steamer Quay & Stoke Gabriel:    Poor – Bathing is not advised

Dittisham, Warfleet Creek & Castle Cove: Excellent.

Based on these results, Dart Harbour strongly recommends that you do not swim in the upper reaches of the Dart Estuary, north of Higher Gurrow Point / Sandridge Boathouse.

Whilst these results are disappointing, we should celebrate the excellent standard of water on the lower reaches of the Dart, and we would encourage you to enjoy the water safely in this area.  We will keep our swim zone in place over the winter, to help encourage safe swimming.  Please never swim alone, pay attention to weather and tidal conditions, boats using the river and the water temperature.    Make sure you can easily be seen – wear a bright swim cap or use a tow float.

If you do decide to swim in the estuary, then check out the current conditions on our website, and use the Environment Agency’s swimfo site.  South West Water has live data about outfall status on Waterfit Live. If an outfall is discharging then we would strongly advise against swimming, but remember that there are other sources of bacteria in the river such as road and farm runoff – in Totnes in particular the water is almost never safe for swimming, regardless of the condition of outfalls.

If you want to take action to improve the quality of water in the river, then we would encourage you to:

• Avoid using marine toilets
• Do not flush wet wipes, oil, nappies etc down your toilet or sink.  This blocks sewers and increases overflows
• Remove paved driveways, and replace with a design that allows water to soak through slowly.
• Do not encourage your dog to swim in the river, and always clean up after it on the road / pavement.  Dog faeces has a particularly detrimental impact on bathing water quality.

These actions can have a massive impact on the local water quality, especially for those of you who live in one of the smaller villages on the river.

We are working with a number of organisations through the Dart Estuary Forum and South Devon Catchment Partnership including South West Water and local farmers to reduce the number of overflows and runoffs into the Dart, and numbers are coming down, but it will be a long process to get the water quality where we all want it to be.

If you want to report a pollution incident, please call the Environment Agency on 0800 807060