Pollution in city brook is ‘environmental challenge’
FLY-TIPPING, LITTER AND OIL AMONG PROBLEMS
A CITY brook is so badly affected by litter and pollution that it represents a significant environmental challenge, according to the city council.
Businesses and residents in parts of north-east Leicester are being urged to stop dumping rubbish and cooking oil in the waterway which runs through the neighbourhood.
Leicester City Council has begun delivering leaflets to more than 300 homes and 50 businesses along the one-and-a-half mile (2.4km) stretch of water known as the Willow Brook.
The brook, which flows through a densely industrialised and populated part of the city before joining the Grand Union Canal near Belgrave Circle, is badly contaminated by fly-tipping, litter and oil.
It is harming wildlife habitats, polluting Leicester’s wider river and canal network and causing blockages that could increase the risk of flooding in the area, said a spokesman for the city council.
Rubbish from the brook makes its way into to the Grand Union Canal, where it sits on the standing water, spoiling the canal for boaters, walkers and wildlife, added the spokesman.
The litter also flows into the River Soar, where it pollutes the wider river network before eventually being discharged into the sea, added the spokesman.
The leaflets, which are being distributed in North Evington and Belgrave, explain the problems caused by the dumping, and ask people to report those who are using the brook to get rid of waste.
Council workers will also be knocking on doors in the area with a survey to assess views on littering. The team will be calling on homes and businesses along the brook in the two areas from today until May 20.
Ward councillors in Belgrave and North Evington are supporting the initiative, and are keen to raise awareness of the problems caused by littering in the area.
Vandeviji Pandya, who represents North Evington ward, said: “We’re asking people who live and work in the area around the Willow Brook to help us keep the brook clean by reporting those responsible for dumping waste in the water.
“We hope this initiative will help raise awareness of the harm that littering can do to the environment, while reminding people of the correct ways to dispose of their waste.”
Belgrave ward councillor Nita Solanki said: “City council staff and environmental volunteers clear as much rubbish as they can from the brook, but trying to keep the water free from litter is a big problem.
“The only way we can clear up this important tributary of the River Soar is by stopping the litter from getting in there in the first place.”
The Willow Brook starts in Spinney Hills in the east and joins the Grand Union Canal at Abbey Park in the west, before joining the River Soar near Sock Island.
Much of the brook is an engineered channel lined with concrete walls, but it is home to water voles, ducks, swans and even herons, whose health and habitats are compromised by pollutants in the water, said the spokesman.
Adam Clarke, deputy city mayor, said: “Regrettably, urban areas such as Leicester suffer the damaging effects of waste getting into rivers and water courses, to the detriment of the environment.
“The accumulation of litter in the Willow Brook is an environmental challenge that we need to address, so I hope that this pilot project will help raise awareness.”