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England · Shropshire

River Teme in Ludlow

No. Rated Poor in the most recent annual classification.

Water quality only This says nothing about tides, rip currents, cold water shock or lifeguard cover. Cold water and currents are dangerous even when the water is clean. Read the local signs before you go in. What we cannot tell you.

Checked UK time

Why this verdict

Bathing season
Closed until 15 May (neutral factor)
Annual classification
Poor (negative factor)
Pollution risk forecast
Normal (positive factor)
Rainfall (24h)
0mm (positive factor)
Latest E. coli
160 cfu/100ml (positive factor)
Latest intestinal enterococci
45 cfu/100ml (positive factor)

Out of season

Weekly sampling and the daily pollution-risk forecast pause on 30 September and resume on 15 May. This verdict rests on the annual classification, live storm-overflow data and rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Storm overflows are driven by rain, so they spill more in autumn and winter than in summer. See every spill happening now across the UK.

Latest bacteria reading

Latest sample · 22 September 2026 · 9 days ago

E. coli
160cfu/100ml
Intestinal enterococci
45cfu/100ml

This is the most recent reading. Sampling resumes on 15 May. E. coli and intestinal enterococci are the indicator organisms used in the official classification.

Classification record, 2024 to 2025

Annual classification for River Teme in Ludlow, 2024 to 2025. Rated Poor in both 2024 and 2025. 2024: Poor.2025: Poor.
  1. 24
  2. 25

Rated Poor in both 2024 and 2025.

The regulator republishes this every November as a percentile over readings from up to four bathing seasons, so it describes the water's record rather than today. No classification was made for 2020, when the pandemic cut the bathing season short.

Sewage spills, 2024 to 2025

The Environment Agency links 2 storm overflows to River Teme in Ludlow. In 2025 they discharged 1 time.

Counted spills a year at the overflows feeding this bathing water.

Down 50% since 2024, from 2 spills to 1.

Counting every monitored overflow within ten kilometres instead, whether or not it drains here, gives 130 spills across 9 overflows in 2025.

See the worst beaches for sewage in England →

Common questions

Can you swim at River Teme in Ludlow?
No. Rated Poor in the most recent annual classification. River Teme in Ludlow is a designated bathing water, so it is sampled and rated every season. This answer covers water quality only, not tides, currents or lifeguard cover.
What is the water quality like at River Teme in Ludlow?
River Teme in Ludlow is rated Poor in the regulator's 2025 annual classification, a percentile taken over readings from up to four bathing seasons. The most recent sample, taken 22 September 2026, showed 160 cfu/100ml of E. coli and 45 cfu/100ml of intestinal enterococci.
Has there been sewage at River Teme in Ludlow recently?
No. No storm overflow within ten kilometres of River Teme in Ludlow has discharged in the last 48 hours.

Where this data comes from

  • Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and database right
  • Spill counts from the Environment Agency EDM Storm Overflow Annual Returns, 2021 to 2025, published annually.
  • View the regulator's full profile

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Gareth Clubb