27
Jun
Group established to tackle River Ure pollution
A group to tackle pollution in the River Ure has officially been formed.
The Stop Ure Pollution (SUP) group was voted into existence at a meeting in Leyburn on Tuesday evening (June 25).
Pip Pointon, the group’s clerk and publicity officer, told the Stray Ferret more than 70 people attended the meeting to express concerns about poor water quality.
The Ure starts in Wensleydale and runs through parts of the Harrogate district, including Masham, Ripon and Boroughbridge before emptying into the Great Ouse.
The Association of Rural Communities held an initial meeting in April to gauge public concern and understand what nearby residents felt could be done to tackle the water pollution.
Ms Pointon said the most pertinent issue raised was that of raw sewage being discharge into the river.
Professor Richard Loukota, chair of the Health of the River Ure group, which acted as an interim committee before SUP was officially formed, said SUP will aim to stop sewage discharge outside of stormy weather and to upgrade water treatment facilities.
The group also hopes to identify pollution caused by run-off from nearby farms, he added.
Professor Loukota also said Ofwat “should be pushed” to impose fines on those polluting the water illegally.
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, a charity that looks after local rivers, will assist with river water sampling.
Charlotte Simons, senior project manager at the trust, encouraged volunteers to get involved in the sampling. She said data hotspots could be identified from the work.
Ms Simons added:
The data collected by volunteers will be more specific and there will be far more testing along the river. That gives you a far greater picture of where the pollution might be coming in.
(L) Green candidate Kevin Foster, Professor Loukota and Lib Dem candidate Daniel Callaghan at the meeting.
The trust will now assist the group in identify testing sites and holding training days for volunteers before the first sampling session takes place by the end of August.
Once the samples have been collected, the laboratory testing will be funded by Yorkshire Water, Ms Simons added.
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