Wargrave & Shiplake
Shiplake & Wargrave Indicative Monitoring (SWIM)
Wargrave & Shiplake
Shiplake & Wargrave Indicative Monitoring (SWIM)
Monitoring our reach
Results from the HoTWater group in Henley provide a useful indication of conditions downstream, but they do not specifically reflect water quality at Wargrave and Shiplake.
SWIM are concerned about the health of our river, and the people who enjoy it, so we plan to:
Take weekly water samples at one or more locations around Wargrave and Shiplake, between May and October.
Take occasional samples upstream and downstream of Wargrave Sewage Treatment Works.
Use Roth R-Cards (Surfers Against Sewage link), to test the samples for E. coli bacteria.
Ad-hoc readings
Although SWIM’s core activity is repeated sampling at a number of fixed points along the Thames at Wargrave and Shiplake, we occasionally take additional readings for events such as Wargrave & Shiplake Regatta, and when trying to understand anomalies. These ad-hoc readings are listed separately below.
(DD/MM/YYYY)
23/05/2026 60 cfu/100ml Loddon B
23/05/2026 113 cfu/100ml St Patrick’s A
23/05/2026 2333 cfu/100ml Loddon mouth
19/05/2026 52 cfu/100ml 10m upstream of Wargrave STW
19/05/2026 >9900 cfu/100ml Outlet from Wargrave STW
19/05/2026 6266 cfu/100ml Loddon mouth
Testing for E. coli does cost money — but by using R-Cards, we can keep the costs down **.
Tests have already been sponsored by Henley Sailing Club, and by local river users and residents.
If you would like more information or would like to sponsor one or more tests, please contact us at:
** Initial tests cost about £11 each, and more recently about £6 each. The price of tests is likely to vary, but all monies raised will be spent on buying as many tests as we can. If funds allow we may also include occasional lab based tests.