'Fluorescent' weed takes over popular bathing spot
Isabella Harris/LDRSThe unusually dry and warm summer has left people unable to swim at a popular bathing spot in Oxford, after what was initially thought to be a bright green algal bloom coated the water.
Signs were put up next to the River Cherwell in University Parks, warning visitors about the water - which one local resident described as "fluorescent".
The university's parks team later said it believed the "thick mat resembling an algal bloom" on the water was duckweed.
The proliferation of the weed had been caused by "low water levels, warm conditions, plentiful sunlight and slow river flow," the university said.
The signs - installed by the University of Oxford - suggested that a bloom "may be harmful to humans and pets", having been caused by "recent dry weather conditions".
This signage has since been replaced, after the university said it had been put up "as a precaution".
The university added that its the parks team were "confident that this is not a potentially toxic algal bloom".
Isabella Harris/LDRSThe affected area had been a male-only nude bathing area for about 400 years, known as Parson's Pleasure, before it closed in the 1990s.
A spokesperson for the university said the initial signage had been installed "as a precaution to avoid any risk to local people and/or their pets".
They explained that, having "investigated the matter more closely", the university's parks team believed the "thick mat resembling an algal bloom" on the water to be duckweed.
"There is therefore no risk to people or animals from poisonous algae – although the very low water levels and poor visibility means entering the water is still a bad idea," they added.
Duckweed is a small, natural freshwater plant which can reproduce incredibly quickly - meaning it can form a carpet-like appearance on the surface of waterways during favourable weather conditions.
Although it is strongly advised not to enter water with duckweed coverage due to visibility, the plants pose no health threat to humans or wildlife and are not poisonous.
