According to a Watershed Investigation, bathing waters across the UK are awash with pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, harmful bacteria and genes that can create superbugs resistant to antibiotics, including medicines used as a last line of defence.

In collaboration with the University of York, citizen scientists and Surfers Against Sewage, hundreds of samples were taken from river and lake swimming sites over a week during the summer and a wide range of pollutants were detected, including levels of E.coli up to 22 times higher than would be deemed safe in the US, banned ‘forever chemicals’ that have been linked to cancer, and pharmaceuticals used to treat diabetes and seizures.

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