About Face on the Boat Race?

The famous Oxford versus Cambridge Boat Race, used to culminate, with the winning team hurling their cox (steerer) into the Thames. There was always much post-race splashing about! No more. The crews have now been instructed not to enter the river and immediately go to special shower units. This turn of events is predictable. Since 2010, England's hospital admissions for waterbourne diseases, have increased by 60% (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/29/hospital-admissions-for-waterborne-diseases-in-england-up-60-report-shows). Common UK waterbourne diseases include dysentery; typhoid and Weil's disease. They can all cause long-term health damage and are sometimes life-threatening. Most of the people contracting waterbourne diseases in the UK, have been engaged in canoeing; fishing; surfing or 'wild water' swimming. It's not unreasonable to link these hospital admissions, to the increased release of raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters. Privatised Water Companies have progressively discharged more human waste, in this way, from 2010-2024. Human waste, of course, contains pathogenic micro-organisms. Such raw sewage release is only supposed to happen, when there's a flooding risk. The Water Companies, however, save money, by not treating the sewage before release. This boosts their profits. It turns the old Yorkshire adage on its head. It should now read "where's there's brass, there's muck".