Protesters throw spotlight on river pollution in Ironbridge Gorge
A group of Telford and Ironbridge residents have launched a campaign to protest against pollution in the River Severn.
It comes after the residents in Ironbridge were inspired by the success of the Up Sewage Creek group in Shrewsbury and the national Deepwater group, which highlighted the issue of raw sewage in rivers.
Now they have begun protesting at one of the Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs) in Ironbridge.
Kevin Bundy, a spokesperson for the group, claimed raw sewage was being pumped into the river on a regular basis. However, Severn Trent said it has made a commitment to ensure its work will cause no harm to rivers by 2030.
Mr Bundy said: “The Iron Bridge is a Unesco World Heritage Site that draws a million visitors a year to stand on its historic frame and look down on the beautiful river below.
“Yet over 200 years since it was built, the water companies are still filling the river it crosses with human waste. This can’t be right in 2022.”
The Ironbridge group hopes to build on public awareness and get local people involved in the campaign for change by putting pressure on water companies.
They will be holding a public meeting at Coalbrookdale & Ironbridge Community Centre on Friday at 7pm and have encouraged residents to join. Guest speakers will include Pete Lambert, from Shropshire Wildlife Trust, and Melissa Compton – a local nurse who had to have hospital treatment after swallowing sewage during a charity swim along the Severn.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency – the public body which works to protect the environment, said: “Sewage pollution can be devastating to human health, local biodiversity and our environment. Where there is evidence of non-compliance we will not hesitate to take the appropriate action against the water companies concerned – as is evidenced by the conclusion of seven prosecutions against water and sewerage companies in 2021.”
“Storm overflows must only be used under strict permitted conditions that control their environmental impact.
“The Environment Agency (EA) has launched a major investigation into possible unauthorised spills at thousands of sewage treatment works, secured fines of over £137 million since 2015 for pollution incidents.
“And, placed new requirements on water companies to significantly increase their monitoring and reporting so that everyone can see what is happening.”
A spokesperson from Severn Trent said: “We understand the strong feeling among people in Shropshire around the health of rivers, particularly along stretches of the River Severn, including Ironbridge.
“We share the same passion to protect and improve water quality in this area.
“That’s why we’re investing £100 million in our rivers every year and have made a commitment to ensure our work will cause no harm to our rivers by 2030.
“We’ve also pledged to fulfil all of our river quality actions set out in the Government’s Environment Plan in a nine-year time frame, rather than the 25-year target, to play our role in getting rivers to good ecological status.”
“In the last five years alone, we’ve invested £355 million on overflow improvements, infrastructure improvements and minimising our impact on rivers.
“We’re always happy to meet with community groups and leaders to listen to their concerns and share the ambitious plans we have for our region’s rivers in the more detail.”
For more information on the Up Sewage Creek campaign visit upsewagecreek.com
