An environmental charity in Huddersfield which has been trying to sort out a problem with pollution in a stream for eight years turned to Huddersfield Hub for help after feeling they were getting nowhere.
The Hub’s intervention has immediately led to both Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency now investigating the problems discovered by Woodscape which is based in the Bradley, Deighton and Brackenhall areas and looks after a connected network of ancient woodland covering 130 acres.
This includes Screamer, Dyson, Bradley Gate and Lower Fell Greave Woods off Bradley Road, Keldregate and Wiggan Lane.
Trustee Keith Hunter, who has been a volunteer with Woodscape for 25 years, said they have tried to get Yorkshire Water to investigate the problem but nothing had been sorted and they had also raised the issue with the Environment Agency.
“This is a serious and ongoing pollution incident that we’ve been trying to get the Environment Agency or Yorkshire Water to deal with,’’ he said.
“There is raw sewage pouring out of a pipe in Newhouse Hall Meadow. This flows into the stream that flows from Lower Fell Greave Wood into Bradley Gate Wood and eventually ends up in the River Calder.’’
He suspects a cross connection which means that when homes or other buildings are constructed the drains are wrongly connected into the rainwater system which runs into streams, rivers and other watercourses rather than the sewage system which flows to treatment works.
Keith added: “Yorkshire Water need to track the pipe all the way back up to find the cross connection.
Keith Hunter from Woodscape
“There is a sewage manhole near to the stream so perhaps a simpler solution could be to dig down to redirect and reconnect the pipe into the sewage system there.
“This all started about eight years ago when we noticed a foul smell which was especially bad in summer.
“The water in the stream should be clear but it’s about a foot-and-a-half deep in human waste.
“It’s really frustrating that nothing has been done about it and the problem seems to be getting worse, probably as more people add extensions and toilets to their homes.’’
Clare Beasant, river health improvement manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Our teams have been out to investigate issues reported off Wiggan Lane and have found a field where water is surfacing along the route of a historic watercourse, creating a boggy, stagnant area.
“This water has very low flow downhill and connects to a nearby watercourse. Water quality testing at the stagnant site has shown elevated ammonia and phosphate levels, though no visible signs of sewage.
“Investigations have found a collapsed section of a private surface water pipe nearby. The repair requires excavation works to be carried out by the owner.
“Further investigation has already been carried out both upstream and downstream using CCTV surveys and dye testing has ruled out a direct misconnection.
“There are indications that further private/non-YW issues may be present and additional investigation will be needed once the collapsed pipe has been repaired.’’
Yorkshire Water has now put Woodscape in direct contact with its River Health Team. This was created in 2023 to work more closely with community groups, River Trusts and citizen scientists to identify problems on local watercourses and try to resolve them.
A significant focus is identifying misconnections and working with the property owners, councils and the Environment Agency to resolve them.
They also carry out walks along watercourses with local community groups to inform them where Yorkshire Water pipework is, what the pipes should and shouldn’t be doing and help people identify potential issues and provide an easy way to report them so they can be investigated.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency says people should report pollution via its 24/7 Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
Woodscape was set up in 1991 and over the years environmental and conservation work by hundreds of volunteers has included building and maintaining footpaths and bridges, planting trees and hedgerows, controlling invasive species and running a community allotment on the edge of Bradley Gate Wood.
Woodscape volunteers meet on Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.
To find out more about Woodscape and how to become a volunteer go to https://www.facebook.com/Woodscape.Huddersfield/
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
