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Cleaning up our rivers lakes and seas the answers

Message from Ilkley Clean River Group to all who came on World Rivers Day to the conference, and those who didn’t make it…

Thank you so much for being so fully engaged on the day. We have already been lobbied to have this as an annual event!
The blog has been updated with:
  1. Speakers slides (on the resources page)*
  2. Conference Poll results (on the Poll page)
  3. Conference photos (if you have any you would like to add pop them over)
  4. Messages from the conference – please do have a look as we are sure you have more to add….. This will be updated this week so we look forward to hearing from you and do come back to see the updates.
If anyone is not on our irregular national email updates (literally when we hear things we post them out) and wants to be let us know.
It also includes download links to speakers’ notes too.
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Cleaning up our Rivers, Lakes and Seas – The Answers event

Yesterday we attended the “Ilkley River Group cleaning up our Rivers, Lakes and Seas – The Answers event”.

It was great to listen to the speakers and see the data, which was difficult viewing at times.

However, cause for optimism as the solutions have started to come forward and food for thought on how we can replicate the success seen in Ilkley!

Thank you to the team at Ilkley Clean River Group for putting on such a wonderful event.

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Presentation about the River Wharfe at the Wetherby Festival

There will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the state of
the river in an event ‘The River Wharfe – Liquid Eden’ during the
forthcoming Wetherby Festival which opens on Friday, 4th and runs
until the 12th.

Mark Barrow, who has featured in many TV reports and documentary
programmes, will be appearing at the Festival on Wednesday, 9th
Oct. at 8pm. You can find details and book on the Festival website

The Festival, now in its fifth decade, is a great part of our lovely
community. There is a wonderful programme in place. You will find
more at www.wetherbyfestival.co.uk/whats-on.

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Better Wetherby September 2024 Newsletter

This report featured in the BW September newsletter:

Linda Richards and other members of Wetherby and Villages Clean River group (WVCRG) recently attended a meeting convened by Leeds City Council regarding the implications of achieving Bathing Water status for the River Wharfe in Wetherby. Claire Campbell from the Environment Agency gave an update as to the action and sampling which the Agency undertake as a result of bathing water status. This sampling is done weekly from May 1 to September 30. It is expected that, in November, a classification (from excellent to poor) of the quality of the river water in Wetherby will be made. It is noted that the River Wharfe bathing quality at Ilkley, some 20 miles upstream, has been classified as “poor” for the last 3 years.

WVCRG is also involved in an ongoing additional sampling project with York University. All designated bathing water sites across the UK were invited to participate, along with Surfers against Sewage and Watershed Investigations. This project involved daily sampling of the Wharfe at Wetherby to enable broader analysis of the pollutants in the river.

WVCRG is continuing to push for improvement in the quality of the river. Achieving the water status has raised the profile of water quality with Leeds City Council and they now engage positively on this issue. Signage will be available regarding the water quality not only on the bathing site but possibly elsewhere. People are encouraged to report any pollution incidents on the river via the incident hotline for the Environment Agency – 0800 807060.

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Cleaning up our Rivers, Lakes and Seas – The Answers

Ilkley Clean River Group

announce a meeting at Christchurch, The Grove, Ilkley on Sunday, 22nd September from 12:30pm till 16:30 titled:-

Cleaning up our Rivers, Lakes and Seas – The Answers

You can sign up here at Eventbrite for a free ticket:-

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cleaning-up-our-rivers-lakes-seas-the-answers-tickets-913536882407

and read more information along with an agenda.

If you are travelling from Wetherby by car you can park in the South Hawksworth Street Car Park.

Christchurch is a 4 minute walk away.

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Environment Agency Testing Update

Wetherby and Villages Clean River group was pleased to attend a meeting convened by Leeds City Council regarding the implications of achieving Bathing Water status for the river Wharfe in Wetherby.
Ward Councillors including Norma Harrington and Alan Lamb who have been working on this issue for the last few years attended. Claire Campbell from the Environment Agency gave an update as to the action and sampling which the Environment Agency undertake as a result of bathing water status. This sampling is done weekly from May 1 to September 30.
In November, a classification of the quality of the river water will be made, from excellent to poor. Do not be surprised if the quality is not as we would wish.
This classification will remain until the following year when it will be reviewed as a result of further weekly testing during the next bathing water season from May 1 to September 30.
WVCRG reported to the group of the work being done on the ongoing additional sampling project in which they are involved. All designated bathing water sites across the UK were invited to participate in a project with York University, Surfers against Sewage and Watershed Investigations. This project involved daily sampling of the river Wharfe at Wetherby to enable broader analysis of the pollutants in the river. These results will be shared as we receive them in the next few weeks.
WVCRG will continue to work to push for improvement in the quality of the river Wharfe for all its users and inhabitants. Achieving the water status has raised the profile of water quality, with Leeds City Council and they now engage positively on this issue. Signage will be available regarding the water quality not only on the bathing site but possibly elsewhere.
Residents are encouraged to report any pollution incidents which they see on the river Wharfe via the incident Hot Line for the EA. The number is 0800 807060.
River Wharfe Wetherby
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What have we been up to over the last few weeks?

What have we been up to over the last few weeks?
We’ve been down at the river Wharfe collecting water samples as part of a study by the University of York, Surfers Against Sewage and Watershed investigations.
All designated bathing water sites were asked to be part of this study, which aims to look at the bacteria and pollutants in our rivers.
We look forward to seeing the results!
What have we been up to over the last few weeks What have we been up to over the last few weeks
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Bathing Water Status Secured

Wetherby and Villages Clean River Group are delighted to announce that Bathing Water Status has been approved by DEFRA for the River Wharfe in Wetherby

This status is important because it ensures that the water quality is monitored to a much higher standard than the normal requirements. This means that the level of impurities and sources of them are more easily understood and empowers those responsible (Yorkshire Water and the Department for the Environment) to act upon this by investing in infrastructure. This has already happened in Ilkley since they were granted BWS in 2022.
It is not a magic silver bullet, and will not happen overnight but it is part of the process of managing and caring for our beautiful River Wharfe.
Status has been granted because of the work which has been done by members of our community. The first application started in 2022 with members of Boston Spa, Thorp Arch and Wetherby Town Councils working with interested residents who collected the necessary data by counting the number of users on the river Wharfe. This application was rejected in 2023 but it was decided to apply again focussing entirely on the riverside bandstand area near the bridge as it more easily fulfilled the range of criteria needed for an application such as local businesses and services.
This has been a wonderful community effort to achieve the status which we believe reflects the importance of the Wharfe in the lives of all residents both in the town and surrounding villages.
The work now begins to ensure that the necessary changes are put in place to support  a healthy river for all its users.
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