Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce E. coli levels in the River Char.

The River Char is not a designated site, therefore we do not hold any data on E.Coli levels for that river.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not routinely monitor for E. Coli, as this is not a measure used to classify the ecological health of our rivers. E Coli monitoring is normally only undertaken at designated bathing waters to provide information to bathers on possible health risks. The Char has no designated bathing waters so is not monitored for E Coli. The nearest designated bathing water site in the catchment is on the coast at Charmouth West. This has been classified as having Excellent Bathing Water Quality.