A formal investigation on poor bathing water quality at Steamer Quay is being launched in April by the Environment Agency (EA) following tests showing that it is one of the most polluted areas on the River Dart.

The tests, carried out over the past year by the environmental group Friends of the Dart (FOD), follow the findings of a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the charity, which revealed alarming levels of pollution in the river, as reported in last week’s paper.

Water samples taken in June 2024 and tested at the University of York found 54 pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and forever chemicals, along Steamer Quay and three other locations – Stoke Gabriel, Dittisham and Warfleet Creek.

Steamer Quay was notable for the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), which allow bacteria to survive and make infections harder to treat.

Following the release of the data, FOD’s water expert Kit Cregan said Steamer Quay was probably “the most polluted” of all of the sites the charity had monitored, revealing that a South West Water (SWW) treatment works, close to Buckfastleigh further upstream, was a main focus of the pollution.

Mr Cregan said: “We were getting really high levels of bacteria concentrations at Dartington, and this didn't really seem to make sense to us, because it didn't correlate with rainfall...or sewage spills.

“We looked on the river and realized that Kilbury sewage treatment works releases its treated effluent straight into the Dart, but unlike the Totnes sewage treatment works it does not have final or tertiary (UV light) treatment,” he said.

UV light is used to disinfect sewage water and is considered the ‘final step’ in the treatment process as it decreases the bacterial load to zero.

Further testing above and below the treatment plant “revealed quite high levels of bacteria coming out of the treated effluent”, he added.

Mr Cregan said SWW had since given FOD a commitment that the plant at Kilbury will be getting UV treatment by 2027.

“If this goes ahead it will be very positive step towards improving water quality in the Dart,” he said.

The River Dart contains 32 kilometres of watercourses, such as Bidwell Brook, which was also identified as a particular source of pollution.

The Dart catchment area includes about 293 kilometres of sewers and 16 pumping stations, which carry wastewater from Combined Sewage Outflows (CSOs) to 31 sewage treatment works, according to data from SWW.

Rob Worthington, FOD’s director and data science lead, said testing in future would be done every month, stressing that Kilbury “was not the end of it”.

Describing FOD’s work as one of the most in-depth studies of a UK river, he said the charity would in future be focusing on pollution in tributaries, announcing that the charity will be carrying out “joint monitoring efforts” with the EA and Plymouth University.

FOD’s tests were carried out throughout the year and not limited to the bathing water season between May 15 and September 30. The charity said results were shared with both the EA and SWW.