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13
Feb
Yorkshire Water responds to pollution claim in Harrogate reservoir
Yorkshire Water has said sampling does not indicate any pollution after a report of an incident at Thruscross Reservoir.
The reservoir, in Washburn Valley between Harrogate and Otley, feeds water to reservoirs in Fewston, Swinsty and Lindley Wood. It is the main supply for water in Leeds.
Julian Brough, a local resident, told the Stray Ferret he was walking his dog in the area yesterday (February 12) when he spotted what he thought was motor oil on the banks on the reservoir.
He said:
I think it might be motor oil. It seems like its either been dumped there or spilt there. I can’t confirm this, but I think there might be a history of fly tipping around the area.
I tried to ring the Yorkshire Water emergency number on the signs posted around the dam, but it didn’t work.
There’s no point having signs with wrong numbers on them. If an actual emergency happened like the dam collapsing, then people wouldn’t be able to contact the right authorities.
The Stray Ferret contacted the Environment Agency, which said it had not received a pollution report for the reservoir.
The Stray Ferret also contacted Yorkshire Water. A spokesperson said:
We appreciate our customers making the effort to reach out to us when they spot something that doesn’t look right at our reservoirs and will be updating signage at Thruscross so that it reflects our latest contact details.
We have attended the area and in this case, it appears to be organic, naturally-occurring matter that has gathered at the edge of Thruscross reservoir. As a precaution we have sampled the water, but our readings from the reservoir do not indicate any pollution.
We can assure customers that this will have no impact on the safety of their drinking water.
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