Several community groups are applying to the government to make the gardens an official bathing water site.
The groups, including For the Love of Water (FLOW), Extinction Rebellion and Salisbury Transition City, say the designation will improve water quality and help paddlers make informed decisions before entering the river.
They received the backing of Salisbury City Council, the landowner, in July. A public consultation began on August 29 and will run until October 10.
Maddie Crabb, FLOW’s senior designer, addresses city councillors (Image: Newsquest) Residents and park users can have their say by completing an online survey (arcg.is/K5jzL0) or attending a public information event at the Quaker Meeting House on Wilton Road on Tuesday, September 30 from 7-9pm.
Designated bathing areas are monitored by the Environment Agency during peak bathing season (May 15 to September 30). The quality of the water is then graded between ‘excellent’ and ‘poor’, and those results are published.
Places with low water quality are subject to further investigation. FLOW says this places greater accountability on polluters and triggers action to tackle pollution sources.
Mike d’Apice, a member of Salisbury Wildlife Group, XR and Transition City, has encouraged people to give their feedback.
He said: “It will demonstrate to the deciding agencies that there is a groundswell of interest in it generally, and there’s not a groundswell of opposition.
“We would like to know what people think and be able to confirm to them that there would not be any conflicts.
“It’s a chalk stream, so it’s pretty good, but it’s not as good as it should be.”
The shallow nature of the identified stretch of river means it is not used for other activities like fishing, reducing the risk of a ‘clash’.
The river’s depth in Queen Elizabeth Gardens means it is not used by fishers or paddle boarders
Mr d’Apice, who is retired and used to serve in the Army, said the designation would have a “wider benefit” for other groups by improving cleanliness.
The groups have carried out their own surveys over the summer to show the stretch of river is commonly used for padding.
Volunteers are also carrying out their own water sampling programme to ‘build a fuller picture of water quality across seasons’.
Once submitted, the application will be assessed by the Environment Agency.
FLOW has already worked alongside other groups to designate an inland bathing area in Fordingbridge.
The water quality was classified as ‘poor’ in November 2024, based on water samples taken between May and September.
Developments since the area was designated include weekly bacterial monitoring during bathing season, Environment Agency investigations to trace and fix pollution sources and capital investment from Wessex Water to improve upstream infrastructure.