Olympic Swimmer Hector Pardoe is attempting a world first. He’s swimming Britain’s three largest lakes in just 24 hours – all to raise awareness of sewage pollution.
And as he swims, we will also be testing the water in real-time. By using a sensor developed by Seneye, we can get live updates on any changes in water quality he swims through. And on Saturday, so can you. The sensor will be collecting faecal indicators including ammonia, pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen. Follow along below.
The Seneye sensor in action.
The Seneye sensor
Hector’s challenge
Hector will attempt to swim Britain’s three largest lakes – Loch Lomond in Scotland, Windermere in England, and Llyn Tegid in Wales – back-to-back in under 24 hours.
No one has ever completed this challenge. Covering 34.5 miles of open water, this swim is almost double the length of the English Channel.
And he’s raising funds and awareness for Surfers Against Sewage. Find out more below.
Real-time water quality data should be the standard
Whether you’re an Olympic record-breaker or just love a weekly dip, every swimmer should be to easily understand when it’s safe to enter the water.
But when it comes to testing water quality for its impact on human health, environmental regulators:
- Only test at officially designated bathing waters, which are largely all coastal
- Only test once a week during the May to September bathing season
- Only test for two types of bacteria
That means the water quality of your local bathing water (if you even have one) is measured based on a snapshot of 10-20 tests. All taken in the height of summer, when the good weather means water quality is likely to improve.
We’re an island nation. Our landscapes are cross-hatched by rivers, streams, becks, lakes and lochs. We swim, paddle, surf, kayak, fish, sail and walk our waterways year-round. We should be able to understand when it’s safe to swim – every single time we jump in.
