Ten new wild swimming locations should be created in London, a report from the London assembly has said, to boost cleanliness of the capital’s waterways and increase access to the outdoors.
Other cities are cleaning up their rivers for swimming: Paris has opened a swimming site in the Seine in the city centre and Chicago is running its first river swim in almost a century.
There are now eight locations in London designated as safe places to swim in nature. None of the sites are on rivers – all are in docks or ponds. None of the city’s rivers currently achieve “good” status in the Environment Agency’s official testing, based on the EU’s water framework directive.
The report says the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, should aim to designate four new sites as bathing waters by 2028 and a further six by 2034. It recommends the sites should be geographically distributed across the capital where possible, starting with river locations that are already used for recreation. The river at Teddington in south-west London was highlighted in the report as a place where people already swim.
The mayor should grip water pollution like he did with air pollution, the committee said. Khan has had a focus on breathable air and put in place an ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) scheme, banning the most polluting vehicles from London. A study has estimated that roadside nitrogen dioxide emissions are 27% lower overall than they would have been without the scheme, and small-particle emissions from vehicle exhausts were 31% lower in outer London in 2024 than they would have been had Ulez not been expanded in 2023.
The report also suggested the mayor should have a role on the board of Thames Water to hold the company accountable in cleaning up the water. It also calls for clear advice on water safety for all of London’s rivers and water sites by April 2026, with a “one-stop shop” page on the Greater London authority’s website to link to all key information. It says this should be accompanied by regular, high-profile water safety campaigns and the promotion of safe, supervised locations to swim.
The investigation was carried out by the assembly’s environment committee in 2024-25, when the new Green party leader, Zack Polanski, was chair.
Polanski said: “Too many of London’s waterways are blighted by pollution, leaving them in a dreadful state. It’s totally unacceptable that none of London’s rivers are at the standards needed or expected.
“To meet this goal, it is important the mayor brings together all the stakeholders across the capital to ensure the plan meets its target. We are calling on the mayor to drive forward this plan by targeting improvements to designate four new sites as bathing waters by 2028, a clear and tangible target which Londoners can see as progress in the plan.
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“If the mayor is to achieve this ambitious target, we urge him to ensure our recommendations are considered as part of the wider plan, and we can see our waters enjoyed by Londoners for generations to come.”
