\n \n 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\u00a0\u2018excellent\u2019 and \u2018poor\u2019, and those results are published.\n<\/p>\n \n Places with low water quality are subject to further investigation<\/a>. FLOW says this places greater accountability on polluters and triggers action to tackle pollution sources.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n Mike d\u2019Apice, a member of Salisbury Wildlife Group, XR and Transition City, has encouraged people to give their feedback.\n<\/p>\n \n He said: \u201cIt will demonstrate to the deciding agencies that there is a groundswell of interest in it generally, and there’s not a groundswell of opposition.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe would like to know what people think and be able to confirm to them that there would not be any conflicts.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt’s a chalk stream, so it’s pretty good, but it’s not as good as it should be.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n The shallow nature of the identified stretch of river means it is not used for other activities like fishing, reducing the risk of a\u00a0\u2018clash\u2019<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n \n Mr d\u2019Apice, who is retired and used to serve in the Army, said the designation would have a\u00a0\u201cwider benefit\u201d for other groups by improving cleanliness.\n<\/p>\n \n The groups have carried out their own surveys over the summer to show the stretch of river is commonly used for padding.\n<\/p>\n \n Volunteers are also carrying out their own water sampling programme to\u00a0\u2018build a fuller picture of water quality across seasons\u2019.\n<\/p>\n \n Once submitted, the\u00a0application will be assessed by the Environment Agency.\n<\/p>\nMaddie Crabb, FLOW’s senior designer, addresses city councillors (Image: Newsquest) Residents and park users can have their say\u00a0by completing an online survey (arcg.is\/K5jzL0<\/a>) or attending a public information event at the Quaker Meeting House on Wilton Road on Tuesday, September 30 from 7-9pm.\n<\/p>\n
The river’s depth in Queen Elizabeth Gardens means it is not used by fishers or paddle boarders\n<\/p>\n