Rowing is an aquatic sport, reliant on clean water. While there have been huge improvements in water quality along the River Clyde over the past few decades, pollution, littering, and biohazards can all have serious implications for the health and well-being of rowers (as well as our scaly, furry and feathery friends). 

From the earliest days of industry, rowers anxiously monitored the condition of the Clyde's waters. From the mid-1800s till the 1970s, the many mills, yards, factories and chemical plants that lined the riverbanks poured industrial waste into the water. The Glasgow Sewage Disposal Works completed in 1894, emptied untreated sewage directly into the Clyde. By the 1880s, some regatta organisers banned swimming and novelty races due to 'the filthy state of the Clyde'. With no weir in place between 1879 and 1901, sewage from the Dalmarnock Works washed downstream to fester at Glasgow Green, 'at low-water the bed of the River...is revealed in all its slimy hideousness'. In 1872, a Royal Commission Report highlighted the River Clyde as one of the most heavily polluted rivers in Britain. This report was the catalyst for the Rivers Pollution Act of 1876. However, it had little practical impact on improving water quality.

A principle offender was J & J White Chemicals, more commonly known as The Shawfield Chemical Works, established in 1820, on the southern bank of the Clyde at Shawfield. The works were notorious for their appalling working conditions, even by Victorian standards. Employees were known locally as 'White's whistlers' as exposure to the toxic chemical dust burned holes in their skin and perforated the septums in their noses. Labour leader, James Keir Hardie, took up their cause in the late 1890s and campaigned for better conditions which the owners reluctantly agreed to.

The works closed in 1965, but left a toxic chemical legacy that is still being dealt with today. Swathes of the southside and east end of the city were used as dumping grounds for chromium waste from the works. The Polmadie Burn, which runs just west of Richmond Park, turned a luminous green in 2019 from chemicals leaching from the surrounding soil. The task of decontaminating areas around Shawfield, Polmadie and Oatlands has been a major priority for the Clyde Gateway initiative.

Today, the River Clyde is a 'recovering river' with much-improved water quality and bio-diversity. River pollution is still a hot topic - the contamination of rivers by various pollutants - sewage, industrial waste, agricultural and urban runoff, and other hazardous materials - can cause a variety of environmental and health problems, including the destruction of aquatic habitats, the spread of disease, and the contamination of drinking water supplies. For rowers who come into contact with contaminated water, it can cause skin conditions, tummy bugs and long-term health issues.

Plastic pollution is also a major threat to life on the river. Keep Scotland Beautiful estimates that 80% of marine litter originates on land - crisp packets, cigarette butts and drink bottles are dropped in streets and washed into drains or blown into our streams. Cotton buds, pharmaceutical drugs, wet wipes and sanitary products are flushed down toilets and end up in our rivers. The impact on wildlife can be devastating.

The West Boathouse project offers an opportunity to review and rethink our environmental practice, both as clubs and as tenants of a refurbished historic building. In consultation with clubs, we are developing a Green Policy for the West Boathouse, which could be adopted or adapted for use by other clubs. More information on this initiative is available on the website.