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10
Jul 2024
Nidd expert issues sewage warning after heavy rain
The man leading a group campaigning to improve water quality in the River Nidd has urged people to be extra careful entering the water after yesterday’s heavy rainfall and new pollution data.
The Nidd is popular for recreational use by bathers and wild swimmers as well as anglers and other water sports enthusiasts. But the government granted Knaresborough Lido on the Nidd bathing water status in May due to concerns about the level of pollution.
This means the Environment Agency is obliged to conduct weekly tests of the faecal bacteria E. coli at the lido and devise plans to act if the standard is deemed to be inadequate by September.
David Clayden, chair of Nidd Action Group, said eight of the nine samples so far had failed to achieve the rating for adequate. The most recent figure was particularly high.
Anything above 900 colony forming units (cfus) per 100 millilitres of water is regarded as inadequate and the last reading, on July 7, was 3,100 cfus.
Heavy rain often exacerbates pollution because combined sewer overflows (CSO) discharge more frequently to prevent the system getting overloaded.
Persistent rain also washes animal faeces into becks and the main river, adding to the E. coli concentration.
Mr Clayden said:
The E. coli concentrations would be expected to rise further in the next few days.
There are 16 ‘currently or recently operating’ CSOs at or near the Nidd. Two of these at Waterside have recently operated, one for three hours, potentially affecting the Lido
In Harrogate, where there are many CSOs, the map has lit up compared with previous days, probably because of the rain. It looks like 17mm of rain — two thirds of an inch in old money — in six hours is enough to overwhelm our local network sewerage system.
Central Harrogate CSOs are very busy, and Harrogate North sewage treatment works and Bilton Lane sewage pumping station are currently operating via Bilton and Oak Becks.
A combined sewer overflow at Bilton Beck
Mr Clayden said four CSOs close to the Great Yorkshire Showground, where the Great Yorkshire Show is attracting 140,000 visitors this week.
He added:
All are close to the Great Yorkshire Show currently extolling the undoubted beauty of Yorkshire. Let’s keep Yorkshire beautiful!
Sewage concerns led to the creation of Nidd Action Group, which includes anglers, conservationists, academics and members of the public.
Water companies are permitted to discharge untreated sewage into a river after rain in exceptional circumstances but Mr Clayden said some analysis suggested ‘exceptional' was occurring too often.
Mr Clayden called for an investigation into the issues and the impact on human health and the environment.
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