The Ribble Rivers Trust, a charity aiming to protect and improve the River Ribble and its surrounds throughout Lancashire, says the recent official classification of bathing water at a Clitheroe beauty-spot as ‘poor’ shows the need for action on pollution.
Water samples tested high for waste bacteria
This spring and summer, the Environment Agency took regular water samples from the Ribble at Edisford Bridge near Clitheroe. Tests look at levels of E.coli and intestinal enterococci in the water, associated with human and animal waste. Now, the agency has classed bathing water quality there as ‘poor’.
Environment Agency samples showed levels of escherichia coli, or E. coli, and intestinal enterococci were higher at Edisford Bridge in mid-June and late August. Full details are on its website.
Edisford Bridge has been discussed at Ribble Valley Council meetings this year. The council’s website will also feature updates from the Environment Agency.
The River Ribble Trust had pushed for Edisford Bridge to be given official bathing water status, which requires regular tests by the agency. Edisford was the first designated bathing site for the whole of the Ribble’s catchment area across the north-west.
Water quality in the River Ribble is now classed ‘poor’
The Ribble is fed by streams and smaller rivers from a wide region including part of the Yorkshire Dales, the rural Forest of Bowland, urban east Lancashire, Preston and West Lancashire. Feeder rivers include the Calder, Hodder and Douglas flowing through urban and farmland areas.
This week, the Ribble Rivers Trust said the Environment Agency’s new ‘poor’ classification of water at Edisford Bridge underscores the need to tackle the causes of the pollution, but also to reform regulations so water-users are better-protected and polluters are held to account.
Jack Spees, the trust’s chief executive, said:
Edisford Bridge is a hugely valuable space for swimmers, paddlers and other users. It is visited by thousands of people each year. This year’s poor water rating is disappointing but not surprising. It serves as a call to action.
Water quality is only monitored part of the year
He said one key issue is the limited monitoring period during the bathing season. Water samples are collected over just 20 weeks each year. Extending the period would provide a better picture of water quality through the year and increase accountability for pollution outside the summer.
Another challenge is relying on a single monitoring location. Introducing multiple points would improve rating accuracy, help to pin-point pollution sources and provide river-users with more detailed information.
Monitoring stops if sites fail to meet standards for 5 years
The river trust said the current system also risks the de-designation of sites which fail to meet standards over five years. This system effectively ‘abandons’ polluted sites instead of addressing the problems. The trust wants automatic de-designation cancelled so sites instead remain ‘supported rather than neglected’.
Additionally, bathing sites deemed by authorities to be too polluted or too expensive to fix are often excluded, leaving many well-loved locations without protection or monitoring, the trust added.
Achieving real improvements requires collaboration between communities, government agencies and polluters, the trust emphasised.
Mr Spees added:
We cannot allow popular sites to be dismissed as ‘too polluted to fix’. If we fail to act, we risk losing spaces like Edisford Bridge to de-designation, instead of using them as an opportunity to drive accountability and change.
United Utilities has plans for improval
Separately, United Utilities has investment plans for waste-water treatment sites at Chipping Brook, as part of wider projects for water entering the River Calder and Pendle Water, which feed into the Ribble, and to reduce waste overflows during heavy storms.
