A RIVER pollution survey has revealed “shocking” results. 

Volunteers spent three months checking the rivers Aire and Worth in Keighley.

Around one in ten pipes were found to be spewing effluent into the River Aire.

And on the Worth, one of the worst incidents was associated with Hogg Holes Beck – where a public footpath was being littered with human waste, toilet paper and used sanitary products from a leaking sewer manhole cover.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Sewage surges from a manhole cover near Hogg Holes Beck in Keighley Sewage surges from a manhole cover near Hogg Holes Beck in Keighley

Seventy volunteers from the Aire Rivers Trust were involved in the crowdfunded ‘citizen science’ survey, called the Great Aire River Outfall Safari, which was carried out between October and December last year.

“We have spent the last few months processing the data and some very shocking results came out for Keighley,” says Sam Riley-Gunn, the trust’s citizen science and River Worth officer.

Volunteers reported 11 ‘high risk’ outfalls to the Environment Agency pollution hotline, for investigation by it and Yorkshire Water.

And trust staff visited locations of some of the worst incidents with members of Yorkshire Water’s river health improvement team.

Wendy Robinson, chair of the Aire Rivers Trust, says: “Citizen science is an enormously valuable way for communities to highlight the harm being done to our rivers.

“We know that sewer overflows harm our rivers, but they are only part of the story. We believe not enough is being done to find the thousands of misconnections that exist. Too much of the response to them is reactive, not proactive. We need organisations to work together to find misconnections and ensure they are fixed before they cause serious harm.”

Yorkshire Water welcomes the survey and says it is working with other organisations to tackle issues.

Clare Beasant, the company’s river health improvement manager, says: “Our new river health improvement team has been created to co-ordinate, collaborate and innovate on improvements to our wastewater network as part of our commitment to a thriving river environment in Yorkshire.

“We really appreciate the work completed by the Aire Rivers Trust volunteers as eyes and ears on the ground – it’s a hugely beneficial survey and a fantastic example of citizen science."

An Environment Agency spokesperson says: “We value the contribution of England’s citizen scientists, and we share their passion for the environment. 

“We recognise that citizen science can provide important data, which complements our own monitoring and assessment work and strengthens relationships with our partners. We are keen to work with community initiatives to help find solutions to the complex problems water is facing.”