Residents celebrate victory in cleaner river fight

A GROUP of Yorkshire residents concerned about local water pollution have won a battle to get the River Wharfe cleaned up.

Around 70 members of the Ilkley Clean Rivers Group met with representatives of the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water this week to call for action to be taken to prevent raw sewage being dumped in the Wharfe during periods of heavy rainfall.

The discharges are legal to prevent nearby homes from flooding with contaminated water but are having an adverse impact on the water quality and ecosystem of the river.

Although the Environment Agency had imposed a 10-year deadline for upgrading an upstream pumping station at Addingham which is often overwhelmed during storms, Yorkshire Water, which manages the site, has agreed to take immediate remedial action. It expects to find a solution to the issue before the end of the year.

A statement from Ilkley Clean Rivers Group said: “This commitment is a significant step to a better environment for both the ecology of the water and for our children to paddle, play and swim in the river, and for people to picnic by the river without fear of pollution and public health hazards.

“The Clean Rivers Group is delighted with the announcement and looks forward to seeing the imaginative, future-facing solution to providing clean water in Ilkley that will withstand climate change and population growth.”

The campaigners are also lobbying the Government to designate the stretch of the Wharfe near Ilkley as safe bathing water, meaning the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water would be legally required to regularly test the river and monitor pollution

levels. A decision on whether the status will be granted is expected in May.

Currently, there are no rivers in the UK with the status, which is usually awarded to beaches and lakes.

The Wharfe attracts large crowds of swimmers during the summer, but the group claims it suffers from pollution emanating from the upstream Yorkshire Water treatment facility.

It believes that bacteria levels rise when rainfall overwhelms the sewage pumping station’s storm tanks, causing untreated effluent to enter the river. These discharges are legal in order to prevent leakages into people’s homes, and are often permitted by the Environment Agency.

Bradford Council has backed the group’s submitted application. If granted, the Environment Agency would be required to conduct weekly testing during summer.