The owner of a local boating company says ‘human faeces’ spotted in the Thames near Henley are ‘more likely to be algae’ – but said Thames Water couldn’t blame locals for jumping to conclusions.

Jim Sneddon, 56, owner of the Henley Boating Company, posted a video on Facebook on Friday, July 26, of a boat journey down the Thames near Fawley where he spotted “human faeces” floating in the river.

Speaking behind the camera, he said: “We’re (just) moving the boat from A to B, we’re going past Fawley and yet again, we’ve got masses and masses of human faeces in the Thames.

“This is the end of July coming into August – the biggest holiday time, you see loads of kids swimming in the river, loads of wild swimmers, paddle boarders, canoeists and on it goes.”

The footage sparked an outcry on social media, with BBC journalist Ginny Buckley sharing Jim’s video with the caption: “Shame on you Thames Water. Children, adults and animals swim in that stretch of river. You’re disgraceful.”

However, speaking to the Reading Chronicle this morning (July 28), Jim said he had received the results of water testing taken during the boat trip and, due to low E. Coli levels, concluded that the floaters were more likely than not “an algae bloom that just looks like raw sewage”.

 

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Although still potentially harmful in its way to dogs and paddlers, the algae are a naturally occurring phenomenon and – for once – lets Thames Water off the hook, the 56-year-old admitted.

He said: “The problem is that I’ve seen actual sewage in that exact spot before. If we hadn’t seen all of these confirmed discharges, we wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.

“The moral of the story is to get it tested before posting about it on social media, but it’s also a case of there being no smoke without fire. The number of sewage discharges in the last year to 18 months has increased massively.

“We’ve had a lot of rain and after nearly every heavy downpour I’ve seen faeces and other sewage in the water with my own eyes.”

It comes after the Environment Agency criticised companies including Thames Water for their “unacceptable” performance on sewage spills earlier this week – with 47 serious pollution incidents reported last year.

Alan Lovell, chairman of the agency, said: “My overriding sense is one of frustration and disappointment. The results we see are, yet again, simply not good enough.

“We know that with a changing climate, the country is going to experience more extreme weather patterns, increased rainfall and more rapid drought.

“Water companies must ensure that assets are resilient enough to withstand these challenges.”