Teesside trots??

[jehartnett]

Interested to know if anyone else has been unwell after visiting Tees barrage? I've previously had the lurgy from the Trent after a visit to HPP but was under the impression that the Tees was much cleaner. Five of us ventured down from Scotland a week past Saturday and 3 of us were ill. I'm just recovering from 8 days of diarrhoea and vomiting (2 of which I spent attached to a drip in an isolation room in our local hospital). The other two folks had fairly mild symptoms lasting a few hours. Have I just been rediculously unlucky, or have others suffered a similar fate??

[Mad_Erik]

The Tees is what it is... 200 years of heavy industry and various towns draining in to it, so chances are that quite a lot of the water has recently been through someones bladder/shower/toilet. Beats me why they built a ww course there in the first place.

Having said that, the Tees up stream of the barrage is cleaner than it ever has been. Below it, it is as minging as ever.

[Will Eldred]

Was there on Saturday and swallowed a fair amount of water no problem. rather enjoyed the course to.

[Billy The Fisherman]

I've never had any problems after paddling there. The Tees was polluted by years of heavy industry but it has consistently improved in recent times.

[Biscuit65]

Did you have a sneaky Parmo?

The river is pretty clean. All nasty stuff bypasses the WW course, no sewage treatment discharge etc. I have paddled there since the day it opened, I was a raft guide for 10yrs plus and have never been ill.

However last summer I paddled the flat section down from Yarm with a mate and he spent two days in hospital as a result. No capsizes at all. I suspect he picked the bug/virus from contact with the bank at some point rather than the water.

[warren]

I was ill about 4yrs ago after paddling there , wasnt too bad only lasted a day.
have been many ,many times and never had a problem .
The tees barrage water quality is actualy prity good and lots of wildlife is returning to the river to swim in and feed off.
I think when I was ill it was prob off somthing I ate before paddling.
May be the case for you guys . had 3 of you eaten somthing the other 2 hadnt ?

Pleased you are all on the mend and hope it doesent put you off the the course.

Oh and it does you good to have a good clear out now and again ;-)

[Scots_Charles_River]

Was there a discharge due to heavy rain or something ?

[Mad_Erik]

The river is pretty clean. All nasty stuff bypasses the WW course, no sewage treatment discharge etc..

errrm... the sewage from the treatment works at Barnard Castle, Darlington, Yarm, Stockton and various villages all empty in to the Tees, and this is the water that goes down the course. It is not special water like at Nene Valley.

Yes, the Tees is cleaner than it was. It used to be massively poluted to the point where nothing would live in it. Now it is simply less poluted, not good quality water, and it certainly could not be described as 'clean'. Plenty of local people will not use the course cos they can't afford the week off work which often follows.

Think the water companies are a disgrace. If they poluted the sea like they do the rivers they would face EU fines.

[Jim Pullen]

I think the key word above is treatment! All those sedimentation beds must be there for some reason! Raw sewage only tends to end up in the tees during flood when the treatment works get swamped...

[Biscuit65]

I think the key word above is treatment! All those sedimentation beds must be there for some reason! Raw sewage only tends to end up in the tees during flood when the treatment works get swamped...

Exactly!

[Big Henry]

I believe that there is a danger of catching the trots from ANY river in this country. Bacteria and viruses exist everywhere, and to pick up immunity to them you first have to catch them. If it is the first time you have visited a river, then there will be a greater chance of picking up a new/different strain that you have not come into contact with before, and therefore getting a dose of the trots. Once you have been there, the likelihood of being ill a second time is significantly reduced, as with each visit after that.

Yes, the Tees is cleaner than it was. It used to be massively poluted to the point where nothing would live in it. Now it is simply less poluted, not good quality water, and it certainly could not be described as 'clean'. Plenty of local people will not use the course cos they can't afford the week off work which often follows.

I disagree. I believe the Tees can be considered 'clean', and have no problems with swimming in any of it, from source right down to the barrage. In fact, I quite often demonstrate this whenever I go paddling.

[Scots_Charles_River]

I avoid swimming in canals as they are below lots off farmland - run offs - and are still and tend not to be to fresh. However somewhere like Loch Ard has limited run off, maybe some cespit (spelling ?) run off and very few sheep grazing around the edges.

So having a group capsize etc is acceptable.

Any urban river below farmland etc after heavy rain is a no-no for me.

An exception to this would be the Fort Bill Lochy (Spean in it's upper reaches), Dee or Spey. Even those rivers have sewage farm outfalls lower down but the Riparian owners keep tabs on pollution !

[Adrian Cooper]

It is not special water like at Nene Valley.

I think you mean Lee valley.

[Paul L]

Hi I used to use the course a couple of times a week and have never been ill from it. Don`t use it now much but that`s because I don`t paddle much anymore.

. Plenty of local people will not use the course cos they can't afford the week off work which often follows.

Really , you know this for a fact do you only I`m local and most of the people who use the course regularly are also local. I also work on the Tees and have done for the last 20+ years and it is vastly improved and is improving all the time. However don`t let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Cheers

Paul

[Lancs_lad]

I have been 3 times now to the new course, all three times I have been ill to some degree afterwards. 1st time I felt like I had flu, the 2nd time I was explosive from both ends and the 3rd time was similar but not as bad. Does this mean I am developing some immunity?! On the 2nd and 3rd occasions the whole group got ill ( 8 people).

It does put me off going more often, but it is such a giggle especially the short course on full flow so I expect I will be up next time I have some holiday on the monday.

[MikeR]

I used to paddle the barrage loads and only ever got ill once. Compared to my (unpleasant!) HPP experiences that's a pretty good batting average! Water quality in the Tees is generally very impressive indeed as the Barrage and associated collector drains down both banks solved many of the legacy problems from the tidal reaches and heavy industry.

However, it's after periods of heavy rainfall that some of the more 'urban' rivers are at their worst and you're most likely to catch something. During very wet periods drainage networks get overwhelmed by rain water and combined sewers/surface drainage discharges to rivers, as the treatment works don't have the capacity to deal with the extra flow. Not ideal - but a fact of life sadly. If you avoid urban rivers during these periods you'll significantly reduce your chances of catching something.

Mike.

[Jim Pullen]

Now six hours post-barrage, in work (loacally) and no rumblings yet! Will update in the morning...

Incidently there were only two ww boats and a few slalomists on the course for the entire time I was there. Now it's £6 a session I expected it to be heaving during the half term week, but not complaining. Made for a nice few hours before starting the late shift in work.

[Rdscott]

was there yesterday there were loads ofslalom boats and about 10 playboaters and a few ww boats.
stomachs fine but mine is made of steel

[Scots_Charles_River]

In scotland it's the law that any new development has ponds and reed beds for any non sink/toilet water eg roofs and streets drain into these ponds. The idea is that stops overloading the sewage from toilets and sinks system.

http://www.sepa.org.uk/water/water_regu ... /suds.aspx

[Grumpy old man]

Hi
Is it possible that the pumps constantly disturbing the sediment in the bottom pool could be causing some sort of a problem?

Grumpy

[Scots_Charles_River]

Hi
Is it possible that the pumps constantly disturbing the sediment in the bottom pool could be causing some sort of a problem?

Grumpy

Yes, maybe pumping gunk backup the river at low tide ?

[warren]

Hi
Is it possible that the pumps constantly disturbing the sediment in the bottom pool could be causing some sort of a problem?

Grumpy

Yes, maybe pumping gunk backup the river at low tide ?

Interesting point Lloyd.

My Understanding of how the course works is :
The course runs the same as it used to , 3hrs either side of low tide , so no need to have the screws on to carry the water back up.
The screws run in reverse to generate power and sell back to the grid dure in this period.
The money made contributes to funding the course.

3hrs either side of High tide, a gate at the top of the course comes up and the valves in the bottom pool close to stop the course from flooding out as it used to.
The water is contained in the bottom pool and the screws are set to run the other way to carry the water up top.

I would have thought that when the course runs without help , the valves open and it is flushed out with the new water.
May be the sediment is getting drawn towards the screws and not escaping through the valves ,sediment just going round and round.

But on the other hand when the screws are in reverse and the valves are open the sediment will be getting pushed towards the valves , so able to escape with the water as it has been churned up by the screws.
So in theory im guessing its not a sediment issue but could be wrong.

Im edging my bets that something horrible is living on that thing they call a car that they have stuck in the middle of the new course .
And before any body says the car aint got any fluids in it appart from water ive saved you the bother ;-)

Please feel free to correct me on how the course runs if I have got it wrong .

[geyrfugl]

There's not much the barrage can do with the incoming water from the Tees - it is what it is, and tastes like it too ! I've had 36 hours of trots from drinking water out of the Tees between Whorlton and Winston, which tasted fine and looked clean (I'd forgotten my flask)-: I probably didn't drink much more than I'd swallow in a couple of swims. This was at moderate flow, so no sewage overflow or run-off, but it was warm weather. I know someone who contracted Weil's disease, and the timescale suggests the Tees as the most likely source. You do see a lot of rats by the riverside at Barnard Castle on occasions (and this is where we take scouts for practice sessions...) There are bigger sewage discharges than Barnard Castle before you get to the Barrage. Just drink Coke ?

Andy

[Jim Pullen]

As it happens I didn't get any trots from my session last week, but unfortunately, the guy I was paddling with did. We both spent about the same amount of time with our heads under and both had showers afterwards. Go figure!

[kmac]

Sorry to bring this grim subject back up!

I have been to the Tees Barrage three times and twice I have been ill with flu-like symptoms the day after. Two weeks ago I was ill after BUCS Slalom and the illness returned a week later so I thought it might be leptospirosis/weil’s and saw a doctor. Turns out I have ‘cryptosporidiosis’ which is an untreatable parasite associated with contaminated water supplies and may last for up to a month.
Has anyone else experienced this or similar serious water-borne illnesses from the Tees or any other rivers?

By no means should this put you off the Barrage, it is an excellent facility which I will return to sometime soon! Some of us are clearly bigger softies on the inside than others!

[Wadhamite]

Sorry to bring this grim subject back up!

I have been to the Tees Barrage three times and twice I have been ill with flu-like symptoms the day after. Two weeks ago I was ill after BUCS Slalom and the illness returned a week later so I thought it might be leptospirosis/weil’s and saw a doctor. Turns out I have ‘cryptosporidiosis’ which is an untreatable parasite associated with contaminated water supplies and may last for up to a month.
Has anyone else experienced this or similar serious water-borne illnesses from the Tees or any other rivers?

By no means should this put you off the Barrage, it is an excellent facility which I will return to sometime soon! Some of us are clearly bigger softies on the inside than others!

Report this to the white water centre, it's something they should monitor. Sadly, it may well be your genetics that make you susceptible to these things, but I hope your immune system will prevent further infections of crypto for you!

Avoid milk/dairy, if you can - this bastard loves lactose, and if you don't feed it, you'll feel better (and overcome it) quicker. I recommend the Alpro hazelnut milk over Oatly (tried a lot of non-dairy stuff when I was ill with some bug from the River Cam last year...).

[boo_peep]

I was got last week too, had it for about a day so not as bad as when I had it in September when it knocked me out for a week!

Siobhán

[Scumbag_Scout]

Sorry to bring this grim subject back up!

I have been to the Tees Barrage three times and twice I have been ill with flu-like symptoms the day after. Two weeks ago I was ill after BUCS Slalom and the illness returned a week later so I thought it might be leptospirosis/weil’s and saw a doctor. Turns out I have ‘cryptosporidiosis’ which is an untreatable parasite associated with contaminated water supplies and may last for up to a month.
Has anyone else experienced this or similar serious water-borne illnesses from the Tees or any other rivers?

By no means should this put you off the Barrage, it is an excellent facility which I will return to sometime soon! Some of us are clearly bigger softies on the inside than others!

I've been ill for a year and a half now with some stomach bug/parasite that I picked up in Zambia, good advice about cutting out lactose but if you feel it's not fully helping and you've still got diarrhea, IBS, fatigue, look up the FODMAP diet and give that a go, parasite like to damage your small intestine, resulting in bacteria being passed to your large intestine which causes all sorts of problems once there, if you eat FODMAP-free then you don't feed any bacteria. It's the only thing which makes me feel ok these days!

[Big Henry]

Sorry to bring this grim subject back up!

I have been to the Tees Barrage three times and twice I have been ill with flu-like symptoms the day after. Two weeks ago I was ill after BUCS Slalom and the illness returned a week later so I thought it might be leptospirosis/weil’s and saw a doctor. Turns out I have ‘cryptosporidiosis’ which is an untreatable parasite associated with contaminated water supplies and may last for up to a month.
Has anyone else experienced this or similar serious water-borne illnesses from the Tees or any other rivers?

By no means should this put you off the Barrage, it is an excellent facility which I will return to sometime soon! Some of us are clearly bigger softies on the inside than others!

I've been ill for a year and a half now with some stomach bug/parasite that I picked up in Zambia, good advice about cutting out lactose but if you feel it's not fully helping and you've still got diarrhea, IBS, fatigue, look up the FODMAP diet and give that a go, parasite like to damage your small intestine, resulting in bacteria being passed to your large intestine which causes all sorts of problems once there, if you eat FODMAP-free then you don't feed any bacteria. It's the only thing which makes me feel ok these days!

I had a gut infection that lasted about 5 years from Teesside, but it was from a local not-Scottish Scottish fast food place. I haven't eaten anything from them since. Wish someone had told me about the lactose thing!

[Rdscott]

Never been ill from any of these type of places, and I use to spend most of y time upside down, I think people are just paranoid about the old stories and the majority of the time the illness is a coincidental.

I did say Normaly.

And there was recently a seal staying in the pool for a while.