<![CDATA[River Worth Friends - Blog]]>Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:37:20 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Deposit Return scheme to solve our drink bottle problems?]]>Thu, 30 Jan 2025 19:26:30 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/deposit-return-scheme-to-solve-our-drink-bottle-problems
One of River Worth Friends main activities is picking up plastic bottles and cans from in and along the river, over half of the rubbish we pick up is drinks containers. We don’t do this because we are obsessed with tidiness! Plastic is a scourge in our environment remaining for hundreds of years, plastic in our rivers will be distributed along the banks and eventually out to sea, having a lasting effect on marine life. The plastic bottle dropped in Keighley could end up in the stomach of a dolphin in the North Sea.
​So it was with a mixture of pleasure and disappointment that we heard the governments recent announcement about the proposed deposit return scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles and cans. We’re pleased to hear that it will be up and running in October 2027 but disappointed that it has taken so long for Britain to emulate many of our more environmentally conscientious European neighbours. The scheme was first mooted by Michael Gove, then Environment Secretary, in 2018. ​​Nine years to introduce a relatively simple but environment changing measure, our politicians need to get their finger out!

How will the scheme work? Well actually we don’t quite know, that’s still got to be worked out but basically when you buy drinks in a plastic or metal container an additional deposit (possibly 20p) will be paid which will be returned when the empty container is returned. This is limited to 150ml to 3 litre bottles or cans. Retailers will have to provide a return facility, either automated or manual, with certain exceptions.
Picture
In future someone could make a bit of money returning these bottles, instead of spreading them along the path.

​​The government plans to set up the Deposit Management Organisation(DMO) in April this year, they will fill in the details on how the scheme works and ensure manufacturers and retailers conform.

With British consumers buying over 30 billion single use drinks containers a year, this scheme is long overdue. Currently there are over 50 countries world wide running DRS schemes, European countries running schemes report an over 90% return rate, with Germany leading with 98%. RWF find that well over 50% of the litter we collect along the river is drinks containers. If the people of Keighley prove to be as sensible as the Germans then it will have a fantastic impact on our work. If not, well perhaps it will be a big boost for our funds!
Picture
Our first collection in 2025, at Postman's Walk. We reckon over 50% of this was drinks containers.
This scheme will not only have a huge environmental impact it will also contribute to the circular economy, with the collected bottles and cans being recycled. The government claims it will create 21,000 new jobs and £10 billion of investment in the recycling industry over the next ten years. We feel that it’s a pity that the DRS in England does not include glass bottles as it does in Scotland and Wales, if it did it would reinforce the circular economy even further and also get them off the river bank.

Let’s hope that the DRS and the disposable Vapes ban coming into force in June will  improve the environment in Keighley and also reduce the amount of plastic in the river.
]]>
<![CDATA[RWF win silver award and celebrate the River Worth Restoration project.]]>Fri, 17 Jan 2025 15:41:27 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/rwf-win-silver-award-and-celebrate-the-river-worth-restoration-project
Picture
RWF members and Paul Gaskell of the Wold Trout Trust (2nd from right )celebrate our Silver Trout in the Town accreditation on Low Mill Bridge.

​​​River Worth Friends attended a double celebration on Wednesday. We marked the completion of the River Worth Restoration Project and proudly received the Trout in the Town Silver Accreditation. There was a good turnout for the event at the Old Parcels Office at Keighley Railway Station.

​​Trout in the Town (TinTT) is a scheme run by the Wild Trout Trust encouraging local groups to improve the river habitat for brown trout, River Worth Friends are proud to be one of only five groups to have received the silver accreditation award from TinTT. 
​Some may say “Who cares if there are trout in the river”, but in looking after the trout we are improving things in many other ways. Good habitat for trout is good for the bugs in the river which is good for the birds and other animals that depend on the bugs and so on up the food chain. So a healthy trout population means a healthy river and bank side. The River Worth is something Keighley should be proud of and treasure.

Picture
Worth in winter, the Walk below Woodhouse bridge, what's not to like.
The silver accreditation is a recognition of the hard work of River Worth Friends and it’s volunteers. We run regular work parties on the river and our stalwarts turn up in all weathers, we rely on them.
Picture
Aire Rivers Trust, KWVR and RWF, Keighley Big Local and local councillors celebrate the River Worth Restoration Project on Low Mill Bridge.
​The River Worth Restoration Project was led by the Aire Rivers Trust but involved many local bodies; there was funding from Keighley Big Local and the Towns Fund but much of the work was done by volunteers from Aire Rivers Trust, Keighley and Worth Valley Railway environment team and River Worth Friends. There were four main strands to the project:
  • Improving access along the river by enhancing some of the dilapidated footpaths that are part of the Worth way.
  • Investigation of the health of the river with the help of citizen science volunteers. There were three parts to this:
    • Outfall Safari to pinpoint all the sewage outfalls into the River Worth catchment to aid subsequent monitoring of pollution.
    • Weir Walkers to locate all the weirs on the catchment. Weirs inhibit fish passage, affecting the health of the population.
    • Riverfly monitoring. Sampling the bugs in the river, they act like the canary in the coal mine, indicating pollution incidents.
  • In river adjustments to improve the fish habitat. For example felling and pinning trees into the river at Damems to create gravel bars suitable for fish spawning.
  • Raising public awareness of the river. This included signage for the footpaths, name plates on the river bridges and an interpretation board at the train station plus various events around the town.
One of the main outcomes of the project is that the river can be a haven not just for wildlife but also for the communities along its banks, a place for relaxation and reflection. 

Picture
A fisherman getting some relaxation and reflection on the Worth below Dalton Lane Brridge.
]]>
<![CDATA[Fly tipping - a few facts and figures.]]>Sun, 06 Oct 2024 20:21:37 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/fly-tipping-a-few-fact-and-figures
Picture
Beckside 2020
Recently, during an idle moment, we were researching on the internet why fly tippers throw their rubbish over the wall instead of leaving it on the road side where we can more easily pick it up, we didn’t find an answer to that! But we did come across an interesting report dated October 2022 from unchecked.uk titled “Tipping Point - Exposing the realities of Britain’s fly tipping enforcement gap”.  It has some interesting data which can put Bradford Council's performance on this in perspective. Here are a few snippets from the report, with pictures of some Keighley fly tipping littered (geddit!) amongst them.
Incidents
  • “Last year (2021) there were over 1,134,000 fly tipping incidents across the country – more than 130 fly tips every hour.  This compares to 820,000 incidents in 2010-11, meaning that fly tipping has increased by 38% in the last decade”.
​​​
  • “There has been a disproportionate rise in fly tipping in watercourses and on footpaths and bridleways since 2010/11; with fly tipping incidents in watercourses rising by 76%, and incidents on footpaths and bridleways rising by 97%”.
  • “Last year, the North East, the North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber suffered almost double the number of fly tipping incidents (relative to population size) than the South East and South West (22 incidents per 1,000 people, compared with 11.5 incidents per 1,000 people)”.
Picture
Damems Road 2021
Picture
Remains of cannabis farm below Low Mill Bridge 2022
Picture
Becks Rd 2022

​We are not sure why the North East, the North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber were considered the bad guys on this. East of England had 18.6 incidents per 1,000, West Midlands 15.2 and London 42.7.
Picture
Beck Street 2020
Picture
Leylands lane 2023
Picture
Damems 2021
Picture
Rubbish collected by River Worth Friends, Aire Rivers Trust and River Stewardship Company clear up at Mohair Street. 2019.
Picture
Sorting and loading the rubbish from Mohair Street clear up. 2019
Incidents
  • “Last year(2021), nearly three-quarters (+71%) of fly tipping incidents in England were not investigated by local enforcers, and 60% of fly tips resulted in no enforcement action whatsoever. This is a significant change from ten years ago, when 70% of fly tipping incidents resulted in enforcement action. Now it’s down to just 40%”.

  • “Statutory notices and warning letters issued by local enforcers have fallen by 68% and 69% respectively since 2010-11. Prosecutions of fly tippers are a rare occurrence, with English Local Authorities bringing, on average, just one prosecution for every 471 fly tipping incidents over the last three years, and Environment Agency prosecutions for serious waste incidents falling by 90% over the last decade. In fact, over the last three years, 1.75 million fly tipping incidents in England have gone unpunished by local enforcers”.
  • “The North East, the North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber, which see significantly more fly tipping than the South West and South East (relative to population size), have experienced the largest decline in enforcement of all regions, with total activity falling by 30% in these areas since 2015-16. Conversely, the South East and South West, which enjoy the lowest relative fly tipping levels of all regions, have seen a +10% increase in enforcement activity over this period”
​It is clear from this report that fly tipping is a national problem with regional hot spots and is not peculiar to Bradford as some would argue. The problem has got out of hand because cash strapped enforcement bodies do not have the resources to bring prosecutions. 
Picture
Aire Rivers Trust and RWF volunteers removing rubbish at Mohair Street. 2019.
Picture
River Stewardship Company workers preparing to erect fence at Mohair Street to prevent further fly tipping. 2019.
​Fly tipping and litter are a matter of civic pride, seeing rubbish strewn about the neighbourhood has an impact on how you feel about your community and probably about yourself. We need politicians to step up and say enough is enough  and fund increased enforcement and also encourage a mindset that makes littering, and hopefully fly tipping unthinkable. 
Picture
Mr and Mrs. Dalton Lane Bridge. 2020
]]>
<![CDATA[What's going on at Marley tip? the story of one man's campaign for the environment.]]>Sat, 28 Sep 2024 17:55:39 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/whats-going-on-at-marley-tip-the-story-of-one-mans-campaign-for-the-environment
Picture
Major work to separate the river from the tip. (Photo courtesy of Rita Tretton)
​Some of you will know that work is taking place to prevent waste from Marley tip leaching into the River Aire. This is a £2m project which should be completed in November. River pollution from the tip has been an ongoing problem for many years, River Worth Friends member Kevin Sunderland has been concerned about the level of pollution from the site for over fourteen years and has persistently campaigned for something to be done about it. I recently got the lowdown from Kevin about his long campaign, here is a calendar of his progress.

​First, a little history.
The minutes of the old Keighley District Council show that the Council had asked for help in 1947 with the land that they were losing to the river at Marley. A point blank refusal came from the Ouse Catchment Board. The tip finally closed in 1963 about the same time as the incinerator was shut down. The land was subsequently used for playing fields. The land affected by erosion is at the Bradford end of the playing fields.

June 2011.
Kevin first spotted the way the river was eroding into the tip when he walked a new path at East Riddlesden Hall. He contacted Bradford council suggesting that they should test the tip for harmful chemicals.
April 2013.
​He got in touch with the Environment Agency (EA) about it but was told that they didn't consider the tip was causing a problem for the river. 
Picture
Kevin's photograph of the river eroding the tip, April 2012. Compare this with later picture taken in 2017.
August 2013.
Bradford Council finally commissioned Leeds City Council to carry out tests which revealed  high levels of iron, lead and arsenic throughout the tip. Bad news for the wildlife living in the river and those living alongside it.
December 2013.
​The council sought £400,000 funding to carry out remedial work on the site.
September 2014.
Suspecting the council would not raise the money Kevin approached the Environment Agency again, armed with the results from the Leeds Council analysis. A more official response from the EA was received which stated that the EA was satisfied that the landfill was not having an impact on the river under the Water Framework Directive and that the site was considered to be very low risk and that they would stop further monitoring.
August 2017.
​Kevin visited the tip with a reporter from the T & A / Keighley News resulting in an article in both papers. Still no action.
Over the years he also contacted  local councillors but was unable to spark any real interest in the situation. 
Picture
Kevin's photograph from March 2017 taken from the same position as the 2012 shot above. You can see how much of the tip has slid into the river over the years.
October 2020.
After receiving advice from Councillor John Pennington (Bingley), Kevin approached Philip Davies, MP for Shipley. Mr Davies then contacted Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the EA, who told the EA in Leeds to   take another look at the site. Interestingly the EA claimed that they were not aware of any approach to them prior to 2019, despite Kevin repeatedly contacting them about it. The EA revisited the tip and found the effect on the river to be far greater than anticipated, resulting in the EA instructing/advising  Bradford Council to take action to correct the problem.
Picture
Picture of the tip face which Kevin took in August just before work started.
RESULT! Well sort of, it has taken another four years but the work is now underway.
Picture
Seen from a distance you can see how extensive the work is.
This long story shows that campaigning doesn’t always bring quick results, but with a just cause plus determination, diligence and persistence you can eventually get a positive outcome. This will make a big difference for the river, its wildlife and those living downstream from the tip.

Hats off to Kevin Sunderland. Although he won't like me saying that!
Picture
The stone banking will be built up using stone gabions, there are some to the left of the picture. Photograph courtesy of Rita Tretton.
]]>
<![CDATA[River Worth Dipper survey 2024]]>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:58:16 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/river-worth-dipper-survey-2024Last year we did our first survey of dippers on the River Worth, see report, we have repeated it this year with more surveyors. Here is what we found......

Dippers on the River Worth - 2024 report

A good number of dippers were spotted throughout the system, but in many cases actual nest sites have proved elusive.  This is largely down to there being quite small windows when they are actually nest building, (nobody confirmed nest building at all - it possibly took place before our surveyors got out and about), and again when they are back and forth feeding young in the nest. 
Outside of these periods, the birds are there to be seen but are rarely giving away the location of their nests.  Thankfully quite a few fledglings were seen at the regular places, Morrisons, Damems, Oakworth, Haworth and Oxenhope, even if the actual sites weren’t always clear.  

Picture
Dipper fledgling
We hope that when the Worth Valley Railway finish replacing their bridge at Haworth that the resident pair will move back in there.  On North Beck, there was much activity around Castle Mill, and confirmed breeding at Goose Eye.  Holme House Wood drew a blank again, we have to guess that is due to a lack of the preferred old stone walls/bridges for nest sites?

Picture
Demanding young!
​We didn’t have coverage on some of the upper streams, but a confirmed successful nest right up by Leeshaw reservoir, and similar by Ponden reservoir in recent years, suggest that we really ought to be paying more attention higher up.  It was confirmed that they have been up as far as the small stream through Newsholme in the past, but they didn’t show this year.  We had nobody covering Sladen Beck, nor the top end of North Beck (Slippery Stones and above), so if anyone is out walking these areas at other times of the year and see dippers it would be good just to hear from you.  Dippers are also reported as occasionally feeding round the edges of lakes.  We’ve had no reports of any of ours feeding around the reservoirs, so again it would be good to hear from anyone who sees this.  The Leeshaw pair were only seen feeding in the stream below the reservoir. 

​Dippers reportedly maintain their territories throughout the year, but can travel up and down a mile or more to feed, so although we see them about throughout the year we can never be sure where their home nest is.
​ 
We would like to thank all the surveyors who helped with this project. If you would like to help with next years survey or have sightings to report please contact us.

All the pictures of dippers are courtesy of RWF membner John Tickner

]]>
<![CDATA[River monitoring on the Worth]]>Tue, 04 Jun 2024 19:03:18 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/river-monitoring-on-the-worth

After a long break our blog returns with  Sam Riley-Gunn, Citizen Science & River Worth Officer with the Aire Rivers Trust, explaining how volunteers survey the life in the river to monitor pollution.....
Picture
Sam Riley-Gunn.

River Monitoring on The Worth

It is said that water is the source of life, however, very few people fully understand the diversity of life that exists under the surface of the River Worth. Some may have leaned over a bridge and seen a brown trout and others may have spent a happy summer day catching bullheads in jars paddling in the river. There is however a whole web of other life hiding in the river. The volunteers of the River Worth Friends and Aire Rivers Trust survey year-round to assess the health of the rivers hidden wildlife.
Alongside the Wild Trout Trust, we carry out yearly non-lethal electrofishing surveys and we have recorded a range of fish species including stone loach, brook lamprey, minnows, sticklebacks and brown trout. Understanding the numbers of these higher species is really important to assess how clean the water is, where fish become absent, we can safely say there are big problems with pollution. 
Picture
Electro-fishing the Worth.
  
​​Supporting these fish in the food chain, is a whole host of river bugs that call the riverbed home. Every one occupies its own special place in the river habitat and can tell us much about the river's problems. Indeed these river bugs have been compared to the coal miners canary. In historic mining, a canary would be taken down a mine to provide an early warning system for polluted air in a mine, as they succumb to the bad air long before the miners would pass out and die of suffocation.  In the same way, the loss of small insects in the river can warn us there are pollution problems.
 We have a network of volunteers working in pairs along the river to sample fixed sites, once a month between March and October. These riverfly volunteers look for eight groups of bugs in the river to assess pollution levels:
Picture
Cased caddis.
Picture
Olive.
Picture
Fresh water shrimp (Gammarus)
Picture
Caseless caddis.
Picture
Flat bodied stone clinger (heptogenid).
Picture
Blue winged olive.
Picture
Mayfly nymph.
Picture
Stonefly.

​​To gather a sample of these bugs, monitors undertake four minutes of collection, where they kick gravel and turn stones on the riverbed. This releases insects into a net, so they can then be sorted and counted in a large tray. The results are then logged on the National Riverfly Partnership Database for review by Aire Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency to help build a picture of the ongoing health of our rivers.
 
Where the results show problems volunteers are able to re-take the sample to check the results and report problems to the Environment Agency for further investigation. Essentially making our riverfly monitoring volunteers the local eyes and ears of the Environment Agency for emerging pollution problems. 
Picture
Kick sampling.
Picture
Checking the sample.
During the Summer of 2024 River Worth Friends in partnership with Aire Rivers Trust and Keighley Big Local are running a number of taster sessions along the River Worth and North Beck for members of the public to experience riverfly monitoring, with the aim of expanding our local network of trained river monitors along the Worth Valley.
 
We have dates planned through Keighley on Thursday evenings 7-9pm on the following dates:
 
June 20th – North Dean Allotments
June 27th – The Walk
July 4th – Damems Nature Reserve
July 11th – Aireworth Grove

Picture
Kick sampling amongst the rubbish on North Beck.
We are also running a qualification day on Saturday 13th July at Hainsworth Wood Community Centre, for volunteers who have completed 2 taster sessions, to achieve their National Riverfly Monitoring Certificate of Competence. This enables them to begin monitoring the health of the River Worth.

To find out more about getting involved and to book onto any of the sessions please head over to the Aire Rivers Trust website via this link 
Riverfly - Aire Rivers Trust or contact sam.riley-gunn@aireriverstrust.org.uk
 
Not only will you be helping to check for pollution, it's also a great way to find out more about the ecology of the river
Picture
A handsome stonefly nymph from North Beck.
]]>
<![CDATA[Dipper Survey Results]]>Sat, 17 Jun 2023 18:39:09 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/dipper-survey-resultsYou may remember that back in January we asked for help in undertaking a survey of dippers on the Worth and it's tributaries (We're looking for dipper spotters 19/1/23). A big thanks to those who contributed to the project, your input was valuable. The nesting season is now over so we can review the results. Here are the details from John Tickner who organised the data and also took this lovely photograph of a dipper and fledglings.

Picture
Dipper and fledglings (John Tickner).
Dipper observations, Spring 2023
Along the River Worth itself, between Ponden and the confluence in Keighley with North Beck, 6 definite nest sites were identified where adults were seen feeding young.  Nothing was reported to suggest there were any more pairs, except possibly in among the industrial buildings at Ingrow where observation is not so easy.  Individual birds were occasionally reported downstream of the North Beck confluence towards the River Aire, but no nesting identified.
 
Individual birds were reported on Bridgehouse Beck between Ebor Lane and the River Worth confluence, but observations implied that these were birds from either of 2 nearby territories on the Worth itself.
 
Above Haworth on Bridgehouse Beck, Dunkirk Beck and Leeming Beck, no actual nest sites were confirmed, but 4 likely territories were identified, and in at least one of these breeding was successful as fledglings were seen.
 
On North Beck, individual birds were reported at 2 separate locations, around Goose Eye and both sides of Castle Mill, but again no actual nest sites were identified nor breeding confirmed.
 
Thank you to those of you who have taken the trouble to send us your reports.  We hope to have another go next year, learning from our experiences this year, and ideally with a few more folks joining in.  We were struggling for a while to make any sense of a lot of isolated sightings, then in the space of a few days in mid May it became much easier to locate nests as both parents were frantically to and fro trying to satisfy the voracious appetites of their young in the nest.  It appeared that breeding was remarkably synchronised along the river.
 
Dippers are renowned for liking nest sites under bridges, but not all our nests by any means were under bridges, it seems that the old stone walls built all those years ago to contain the river provide an almost unlimited array of possible holes for nesting.  The grey wagtails think so too!
Picture
Dipper feeding (John Tickner).
]]>
<![CDATA[The very first River Worth Friends AGM]]>Thu, 20 Apr 2023 09:56:30 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/the-very-first-river-worth-friends-agm

River Worth Friends AGM, Tuesday 2nd May 7.00pm at The Marquis of Granby, Riddlesden.

At River Worth Friends we are very excited about our AGM (not really but you have to say that sort of thing!), it will be our first ever annual general meeting.

River Worth Friends was formed about four years ago to work to both improve the river as a habitat for wildlife and also to show the local community what an asset the river could be to them. Of course covid and the ensuing lockdowns stopped face to face meetings so we have never got round to having a proper live business meeting. With the exciting new developments on the river we thought it was time to correct that.

The River Worth Restoration Project with the Aire Rivers Trust and Keighley Big Local, involves a lot of volunteer work to enhance access along the river and to  improve wildlife habitat in the river. A network of water monitors has also been set up to keep a check on the water quality in the river. We also have plans for events to celebrate the river later in the year.

We have a great team of volunteers who come out to help with our weekly litter picks and river clearances but there is a lot of organising that goes on behind the scenes, the AGM will help to highlight some of this back room activity and hopefully encourage people to become involved. 
​All this might sound a bit boring! We hope the evening won’t be. The plan is to get the business side over with fairly quickly and get onto something more interesting. We will have litter bingo, the prizes being stuff we have pulled out of the river, who would want to miss that! We will also have a presentation about the history of the river from Irene Lofthouse who likes to dress for the part. Irene if always informative and entertaining.
Picture
The big prize for the litter bingo so far!
​It should be an interesting evening and also a way to find out more about the workings of the RWF.
Picture
Irene Lofthouse as Nacy Newbody. (Photo courtesy of Tony O'Connell)
]]>
<![CDATA[Paul Whitehouse: Our Troubled Waters - What we can do.]]>Fri, 10 Mar 2023 11:30:58 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/paul-whitehouse-our-troubled-waters-what-we-can-do
Although our rivers are in trouble there are things we can do ourselves to help them.
​The river Worth and it’s tributaries certainly fit into the picture of widespread river pollution outlined in the Paul Whitehouse programs. A look at the River Trust Poo Map, which details all the combined sewage outflows (CSO’s) in the country, shows that the Worth catchment has its fair share of CSO's and that they are regularly discharging raw sewage into the river. If you zoom the map to around Ingrow and click on the largest spots you will see that the South ​Street Keighley CSO (Permit no.WRA8110) discharged 83 times for a total of 1390 hours, Ingrow Lane CSO (Permit no. 3054 ) discharged 57 times for a total of 917 hours. You can also see that there are not full records for Ingrow Lane as there were technical problems, so the discharges may have been longer. In all there were 23 CSO’s discharging for 4,563 hours into the Worth catchment.
 A CSO which we are concerned about at the moment is at Long Lee Lane (Permit No.WRA910 SE of Park Wood), the maps says it only discharged 22 times for a total of 285 hours in 2021 but technical issues mean these figures may not be the true picture. The area around this CSO smells badly and we can also see sewage fungus on the riverbed.
Picture
Sewage fungus.
So the river has pollution problems. Some may say “Well it’s always been like that what’s new, it’ll never change”. We would say that shows limited ambition, the river has improved immensely since the days of heavy industrial pollution, with some TLC it could develop further to be a green ribbon running through our communities.
How do we achieve that? One way is through constant monitoring of the water quality and local people can get involved in that. River Worth Friends, in association with Aire Rivers Trust, have set up the Worth Valley River Monitoring Hub and we are looking for volunteers. Monitors would take regular samples of the invertebrates (bugs) in the river, they can indicate pollution problems, and also check on CSO’s close to their monitoring site. It’s OK we won’t ask you to snorkel in the sewage like the guy in the first episode! We also hope to start sampling for phosphate pollution, a problem highlighted in the second of Paul’s programs. If monitoring indicates a pollution problem you would report it to us and also on the Environment Agency Hotline 0800 80 70 60. In this way we can build up a profile of the pollution hot spots on the catchment and make sure that action is taken to remedy them.
​​If you would like to be part of the Monitoring Hub please contact us. No previous experience is required, you will be fully trained in invertebrate river sampling. For more on river sampling see the River Monitors page at Aire River Trust.
Picture
Taking a sample below Woodhouse Bridge.
Picture
Checking the sample.
Picture
In the sample was a healthy stonefly nymph.
​Even if you are not part of the Monitoring Hub you can still look out for pollution and other river issues. If you see anything you think looks wrong go to our Report an Incident page to find out how to report it. Failing that you can always join one of our weekly litter picks, contact us to find out when they are
We hope that by a combination of local volunteer activity combined with pressure on our government to do the right thing nationally we will be able to improve conditions on the Worth and all our rivers.
]]>
<![CDATA[Paul Whitehouse- Our troubled rivers]]>Fri, 10 Mar 2023 09:00:03 GMThttp://riverworthfriends.org/blog/paul-whitehouse-our-troubled-riversPaul was quite hard hitting but did he miss a target?
Paul Whitehouse certainly didn’t pull any punches in his programs on river pollution in which he appears to lay the blame at the feet of the water companies, with a supporting role for farmers. However, in a way why would we be believe otherwise? The water companies are run by investment companies who are more interested in profit than in the quality of the water in our rivers.   Yorkshire Water, for instance, is owned by the Kelda Group which is in turn owned by:
  • Government of Singapore investment Corporation (GIC SI, Singapore).
  • Corsair Infrastructure Management
  • Deutsch Asset Management (Germany)
  • SAS Trustee Corporation (Australia)
On Corsair’s website they trumpet  “Our purpose is simple, to create value inclusive of financial returns on behalf of our investors and portfolio companies.”
 
So we can’t expect the water companies to have the health of our rivers at heart. The only way to  make them do the right thing is by regulation.
 
There are two bodies that regulate the water companies:

  • The Office of Water Services (OFWAT). This body’s main interest is in regulating the economic interests of the consumer, ensuring the provision of cheap water both now and in the future. It has little influence on environmental matters and is more concerned with keeping charges down.
  • The Environment Agency (EA). The EA’s aim is “to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole" with the "the objective of achieving sustainable development" ( Environment Act 1995). The Agency reports to and is funded by the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs.
 
One of the EA’s main regulatory duties is looking after our rivers. Unfortunately  the Government has cut its funding by 56% since 2010 (Independent 29/8/22).  Little surprise that the EA finds it increasingly difficult to monitor the quality of our rivers. We understand that in recent years the number of EA staff tasked with investigating pollution incidents on the Aire have dropped from ten to two which, inevitably, means less effective monitoring. That is two inspectors to cover the whole Aire catchment from Malham down to Goole!
 
So it’s possible Paul Whitehouse missed an opportunity to point the finger at another culprit rather than just the Water Companies – the Government.
 
But all is not lost, and in our next blog we will suggest ways in which we can do things locally to make a difference.

Picture
Pepper Pig tackles the sewage and wet wipe problem!
]]>