Is Water Safe

[Hylander]

Loved the You Tube clip.   Very apt.     When I heard the other evening that Water Companies discharge raw sewage into rivers on a regular basis , that was it,  I said thank God I have never fallen in.  uggh!!

[grendel]

last year in the warmth of august I took several opportunities for a cooling dip.

after mooring up, I always stayed near the boat while swimming, I would use a spare mooring rope and rhond anchor on the bank to set up a safety line, and always stayed within the radius of the line and hanging on to it.

When I set up my safety line it was always after i had checked out a safe and secure place to enter and leave the water, with the safety line set to enable me to pull myself up out of the water. the safety line was in case I got into trouble, feet tangled in reeds or caught by the tide / current, or as a quick way to move myself to the bank if a boat came close by.

think ahead, take precautions, make sure you will all be safe, and the kids will enjoy the water (if its not still too cold).

I learned to swim in an outdoor pool in my local town, I am used to cold water and the cold water shock reflex, we used to start swimming in April every year in an unheated outdoor pool, fed from a river,  if all you are used to is heated pools, be prepared for a cold shock. be prepared for hot drinks to warm yourselves up afterward.

[Bytheriver]

39 minutes ago, Hylander said:

Loved the You Tube clip.   Very apt.     When I heard the other evening that Water Companies discharge raw sewage into rivers on a regular basis , that was it,  I said thank God I have never fallen in.  uggh!!

I did read the official list of discharges & did not spot any Broads Locations thought the names are not always obvious but bear in mind all of the treated sewage does end up in the rivers ( Spot Norwich just by the A47 Bridge on the Yare as one example)

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, Bytheriver said:

I did read the official list of discharges & did not spot any Broads Locations thought the names are not always obvious but bear in mind all of the treated sewage does end up in the rivers ( Spot Norwich just by the A47 Bridge on the Yare as one example)

Not quite, the liquids are treated, and contaminants removed before discharge. The solids are then treated and spread on fields as fertilizer..

 So your veg is grown in the stuff as it has been for millennia..

[Cheesey69]

Got to think about where you swim very carefully. 
I had a moment in the Ant when a couple was swimming from a sheeted section near a water pump. 
Although their boat was moored up they was not swimming in the protection this provides. 
I moved out to pass, noticed another boat coming on, I tucked in bit to give room and the Mrs noticed two swimmers out about 10 foot from the stern, one had on a dark swimming cap that just disappeared in the glare from the water. 
I really never noticed them, my attention was on the moored craft and the one coming on, you know, measuring the distance. 
I nudged out further than I really should and gave the hirer a nasty fright. 
The swimmers swam on totally unaware.

Although there was plenty of room for two experienced helms, I just wonder what would happen with two new hirers or indeed if I never noticed them?

[CambridgeCabby]

The most common areas to encounter swimmers (which is not encouraged in any way by the BA) on the northern rivers are , Salhouse where there is a gradual slope akin to a beach, and upstream of Wroxham bridge beyond the viaduct moorings .

On the Southern rivers I have seen swimmers upstream of Beccles Old Bridge and also on the approach to Geldstone .

Must reiterate though , this is not a practice encouraged by and is in fact discouraged by the BA and if you do decide to go for a swim attaching a brightly coloured open water swimming buoy is a sensible measure  

https://www.wish.com/gb/product/open-water-swim-buoy-ultralight-safety-float-swimming-bag-for-swimmers-triathletes-snorkelers-surfers-5dd4f550140c2e85017ece3d

[Speleologist]

20 hours ago, Carley said:

Hi All,

I am taking my children and my dog on the Norfolk broads in July this year and was wondering if it is safe for us all to swim? I have heard that leptospirosis is a real danger here??

Please help!

Blue/green algae is probably a bigger issue if there is a bloom. Leptospirosis is rare, and easy to treat if caught early. If you develop flu like symptoms within a coup;le of weeks of your holiday simply go to your GP and make sure that you tell them that you have been involved in watersports. They can then test and treat.

[Turnoar]

On 27/04/2021 at 18:51, Carley said:

Hi All,

I am taking my children and my dog on the Norfolk broads in July this year and was wondering if it is safe for us all to swim? I have heard that leptospirosis is a real danger here??

Please help!

The dipping place on Hickling Broad, by row boat or canoe, nice hard bottom, simplest way to describe where it is imagine the broad as a map of the UK, it’s the north Norfolk coast bit jutting out facing north, there’s a mill nearby with a glazed turret where the cap would originally have been. Enjoy your swim, safe enough in my childhood.

[TheQ]

12 hours ago, Turnoar said:

The dipping place on Hickling Broad, by row boat or canoe, nice hard bottom, simplest way to describe where it is imagine the broad as a map of the UK, it’s the north Norfolk coast bit jutting out facing north, there’s a mill nearby with a glazed turret where the cap would originally have been. Enjoy your swim, safe enough in my childhood.

Roland's Mill, Aka Chapman's Mill 

[ranworthbreeze]

I enjoy being on the boat and it is only down to a mistake if I end in the water and being as I can't swim I take as many precautions I can. One hand for the boat and one hand for yourself.