Figures reveal dozens of cases of raw sewage being discharged into Aire and Calder rivers

Wakefield Council is to call for an urgent ban on the discharge of raw sewage into the district’s rivers and waterways.

The authority is demanding action after figures reveal dozens of instances of sewage flowing into the Aire and Calder.

Data compiled by the River’s Trust details the occasions during 2021 when the district’s watercourses have been polluted, amounting to thousands of hours of contamination.

Incidents which occurred in the district, listed on a ‘sewage map’, include:

A sewer overflowing in Crofton on 126 occasions, resulting in sewage being discharged for 2,279 hours into Oakenshaw Beck. Spillages on 61 occasions from a storm sewer in Fitzwilliam, leading to 1,029 hours’ discharge into Hessle Beck. Sewer overflows 143 times at Smalley Bight, Stanley, resulting in 1,193 hours’ discharge into the Calder and Bramley’s Beck. Overflows on 144 occasions in Wheldale, Castleford, creating 982 hours’ discharge into the Aire. A total of 72 overspill incidents at a sewer at Parkhill Farm, Eastmoor, leading to 198 hours’ discharge into the Calder.

Jack Hemingway, Wakefield Council’s deputy leader with responsibility for climate change, plans to propose a motion calling for tougher measures to stop waterways from being contaminated.

The motion states sewage and waste water discharge is a significant factor in the area’s water quality.

A report published in January 2022 by the parliamentary environmental audit committee said only 14 per cent of English rivers meet good ecological status.

It says pollution from agriculture, sewage, roads and single-use plastics contribute to a dangerous ‘chemical cocktail’ coursing through our waterways.

It concludes: “Not a single river in England has received a clean bill of health for chemical contamination.”

In December 2022, environment secretary Therese Coffey announced new targets for nature recovery which pushed back plans to tackle poor water quality in rivers and lakes by 36 years, from 2027 to 2063.

The announcement faced widespread criticism from wildlife groups.

Coun Hemingway’s motion, to be put a full council meeting on January 18, calls for an urgent ban on sewage discharge into rivers, lakes and watercourses and to revise water quality targets.

It will also call upon Yorkshire Water to invest in infrastructure to reduce the frequency of discharges.