What will save the River Swale from sewage?
“No one should have to do all this just to get decent water in their river, we all deserve clean water.”
Welcome! I’m Sarah Hartley and this is The Northern Eco newsletter. As you’ve received this newsletter then either you subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. If the latter, then you can click on this handy little button below.
Let’s jump in….
The scandal of sewage being pumped into rivers has become a hot topic across the country and nowhere more so than in the Prime Minister’s own constituency of Richmond. A Save Our Swale campaign group was formed and hundreds of residents recently packed out a town hall meeting demanding action. Throughout this month, I’m investigating all aspects of the issue and for this first article ask - could work done 50 miles down the road form part of the solution?
There’s some obvious similarities between the River Swale that runs through Richmond and the River Wharfe in the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley. Both rivers wend their way to join the Ouse and are almost the same length, 70 and 65 miles long respectively. They attract many visitors who enjoy swimming, kayaking, fishing, dog walking or picnicking.
And they also share a problem - sewage discharges polluting the waters. But the important difference between the two is that a section of the River Wharfe at Ilkley was awarded the first bathing water status for an inland waterway in 2021.
Becky Malby is cofounder of Ilkley Clean River, formed in 2018 to lead a well supported campaign earning the Wharfe that prized status. Although it’s taken years of work and lobbying, the group now has a multi million investment commitment from Yorkshire Water to improve the infrastructure and reduce the pollution.
“It won’t take any other group as long as it has done for us as there’s now so many campaign groups that the case is proven - everyone now knows there is pollution in our rivers,” she told me.
Data, data, everywhere
The levels of sewage pollution entering the Swale in Richmond make for sobering reading. Below is the data from the Rivers Trust which monitors storm drains and sewage pumping stations for its sewage map across just a short stretch of the Swale in Richmond:
Riverside Road No.2 Combined sewer overflow (Cso): Spilled 60 times for a total of 83.45 hours.
Richmond Bridge No2 Cso: 3 times for 0.18 hours.
The Batts: Overflowed 81 times for 188 hours.
Richmond Sanitary sewer overflow (Sso): 80 times for 149.25 hours.
Richmond Baths: Sewer storm overflow spilled 14 times for 6 hours.
Rugby Field Richmond Cso: Sewer storm overflow spilled 59 times for 82.25 hours.
Richmond Sewage Treatment Works: Sewer storm overflow spilled 74 times over 604 hours.
That’s a total of 1,113 hours or the equivalent of 46 days. It's not known how much sewage is discharged in each hour and there are also some outflows that were not monitored so the data is underreported.
If the whole of Richmond constituency is taken into account there were 3,455 sewage dumps of 20,615 hours, equivalent to 2.39 years, on average 9.5 times a day, according to Top of Poops which places the constituency at number 23 in its nationwide ranking of polluted rivers.
In response to my enquiry on this, a Yorkshire Water spokesperson said a £180m project had been launched to target the overflows known to be operating more frequently and for longer.
He said: “Tackling storm overflows, which were designed into the system as a relief valve, is a priority for us, but it is also a significant task.
“Our teams are already on the ground working on the first of these overflows and the investment will help to reduce discharges by at least 20%, but in most cases, we'll be going way beyond that and reduce them significantly.”
The recently formed Save Our Swale (SOS) group, armed with the pollution data, is determined to follow the path set by the Ilkley pioneers.
SOS spokesperson, Hilary Plews said the next steps would involve a year of evidence gathering and local campaigning. The group faces a tortuous bureaucratic journey which can only progress with the backing of residents, local authorities, the local MP Rishi Sunak and data proving the river receives at least 100 bathers.
But first things first….
“We are asking Rishi Sunak to broker a meeting with suitably high up people at Yorkshire Water to get some answers. Currently, the swimming pool is shut and so the place for people to go swimming this summer is in the river,” said Hilary.
The group is also starting to test river water samples for fecal matter and surveys of people using the water will be carried out over the August Bank Holiday.
“ No one should have to do all this just to get decent water in their river, we all deserve clean water.”
Given the experience elsewhere, SOS is under no illusions that its work ahead gathering evidence and galvanising support will fix the standard of water in the Swale or even assure bathing water status. Heading 74 miles west over to in Staveley, Cumbria a group of dedicated campaigners have spent the past two years working towards the same goal. But they were refused bathing water status from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in March with no explanation.
Clean River Kent Campaign (CRKC) was formed after villagers found manhole covers erupting with raw sewage into the streets. Separately, a major fish kill incident further horrified locals.
Spokesperson for the group, Isobel Stoddart, said the guidance for applications for bathing water status has recently changed. However, at the time of its application for an area of the River Kent, they were unaware that it was a requirement to demonstrate that at least 100 bathers access the water.
“This rule effectively means excluding upland rivers like ours but carrying out the studies and monitoring the water has been really useful.”
CRKC is collaborating with other groups campaigning on river standards and wishes the Swale campaigners well as they set out on what could be a long journey. “Having local support really counts. Using social media, stakeholder meetings, public meetings and gathering as much evidence as possible can make a solid platform to make the case.”
That’s a message backed up by the Ilkley experience where Becky advises SOS to “make sure the whole community understands what’s going on, how polluted it is, keep it visible and make it an election issue.”
7 ways to get involved
Join the Save our Swale Facebook group and post pictures of the river.
Use social media to flag issues with the hashtag #saveourswale
Write to your local MP - in Richmond, it’s Rishi Sunak at rishi.sunak.mp@parliament.uk. (Visitors can look up their local MP here).
Contact your local councillor at North Yorkshire Council to request their support. Find your local councillor here.
Report incidents to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 (24 hour service).
Take part in the Dales to Vale Rivers network survey - deadline September 8.
Consider boycotting paying the sewage charge aspect of the Yorkshire Water bill. boycottwaterbills.com explains how.
If you’d like to read more on the River Swale pollution issue, please subscribe via the button below and you’ll receive the newsletter by email. In part two of this series, I'll look at what local politicians are doing and find out how the humble mayfly is involved.
In other news
With a lot of discussion in the news about moving to heat pumps for household heating, the innovation agency Nesta is holding a series of ‘visit a heat pump’ sessions so people can see for themselves and ask questions. [VisitaHeatPump]
Four rare red squirrel kits have been born to two mothers, Holly and Hazel, who, along with dad Erik the Red, arrived at the Yorkshire Arboretum last winter. Visits to see them can be booked. [Darlington & Stockton Times]
A collection of work from fashion designer and environmentalist Vivienne Westwood is on display at County Durham’s Bowes Museum until February. [The Bowes Museum]
Sheffield City Council has been awarded £96,725 to look into reintroducing beavers to Sheffield and surrounding areas because of the extensive, positive influence that they have on the environment and ecosystems. [Sheffield Star]
Curlews, short-snouted seahorses and natterjack toads to benefit from six nature recovery projects, including four in the north of England. [Defra]
I understand why the SOS group are applying for bathing water status. We all want to end up with a clean river free of pollution. However access to the river for swimming should only take place in areas which are deemed to be safe and where permission has been granted by the Council or the riparian owner. There are deep pools, fast and powerful currents and hidden underwater hazards which pose serious risks in some areas. The river is said to be the fastest flowing in England and its levels have been known to rise 10 feet in 20 minutes. I am not against wild swimming but rivers can be dangerous and I would recommend caution especially where children are involved.