Campaign group Stop Ure Pollution (SUP) has claimed new water quality tests reveal “dangerously high” levels of bacteria in the River Ure, including the bacterium responsible for Legionnaires’ disease.
The findings come after SUP commissioned a comparison study of water samples from the Rivers Ure, Wye and Thames using environmental DNA (eDNA) testing carried out by UK biotechnology company Molendotech.
According to the group, the River Ure sample, taken at Hawes, was the only one described by the company as being of the “highest clinical concern”. SUP says the testing identified elevated levels of Legionella pneumophila, the bacterium associated with Legionnaires’ disease, as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which it describes as a serious pathogen. The sample also recorded high levels of enterococci and E. coli, indicators of faecal contamination.
The campaign group’s concerns were heightened after a visitor reported that their German Shepherd, Elsie, became seriously ill after drinking water from the River Ure at Wensley earlier this month.
The dog’s owners said Elsie became unwell after playing in the river during a holiday between July 10 and 13 and suffered severe diarrhoea before requiring veterinary treatment. They said: “The river seems to have serious issues.” The dog has since recovered.
SUP chairman Richard Loukota said the results should serve as “a wake-up call”.
“The River Ure has performed worse than the River Wye, which is widely regarded as one of Britain’s most environmentally damaged rivers, and worse than the Thames despite its far larger population,” he said.
“It is time for every organisation with direct or indirect responsibility for the river – the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, farmers, agricultural contractors, landowners and local authorities – to acknowledge the scale of the problem and work together to stop pollutants entering the river.”
SUP claims the River Ure sample contained 3,700 E. coli colony-forming units per 100ml, almost twice the level recorded in the River Wye and more than five times the level found at Henley-on-Thames.
Vice-chairman Toby Milbank said stronger enforcement was needed to tackle agricultural pollution and sewage discharges.
The group says it believes pollution is being caused by a combination of agricultural runoff and untreated sewage. It points to volunteers reporting 192 acres of alleged illegal slurry spreading over the winter, while Yorkshire Water data shows 18 sewage treatment works in the River Ure catchment recorded 1,797 sewage overflow events, lasting a combined 4,215 hours, during 2025.
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No one seems to be concerned about the water which Yorkshire Water pump out or the river Ure at Kilgram Bridge in lower Wensleydale which eventually comes out of almost all of our taps and we all drink in Wensleydale and beyond.