Linacre College women’s first team names new boat after anti-pollution campaign group. The unveiling of River Action took place on 20 April at Linacre College Boat House.
The College named the boat to praise the group’s efforts in “drawing attention to water pollution on the River Thames believed to be caused by Thames Water.” River Action, the namesake group, aims to promote awareness of river pollution and pressure companies into changing their practices to improve water quality.
River Action recently tested the River Thames before the Oxford versus Cambridge Boat Race, finding E.coli “up to 10 times higher than what the Environment Agency considers acceptable for designated bathing waters graded poor.”
Linacre College Boat Club President, Sydney Rose, said “Linacre Boat Club is proud to support the vision of River Action UK to preserve the health of this cherished historic waterway and the people who gather around it.”
A University rower recently blamed the loss in the Boat Race on a significant portion of the team being ill with E.coli. The crews were advised against entering the water, and told to cover open wounds and wear footwear getting in and out of the boat.
River Action CEO, James Wallace has said River Action is honored, commenting: “Rowers spend so much of their time on rivers, and they know better than most, because many of them are getting sick, the awful state of our waterways.
“Together with the rowing community, including all the rowers at Linacre College, we are standing up for river health, placing the polluters on notice that we will hold you accountable.”
Linacre College principal Dr Nick Leimu-Brown has said: “We are horrified that its polluted waters are now such a risk to wildlife and public health.” Pollution in Oxford has been of increasing concern in recent years and Port Meadow has been classified as having “poor” water quality for two years in a row.
Thames Water has recently published plans to upgrade over 250 of its sites, which would “improve performance and reduce the number of overflows during heavy rainfall.”
