A notice should be erected warning children not to play at a Kirkby Stephen beauty spot because of sewage, town councillors were told.
Kirkby Stephen resident Ann Sandell, speaking at a meeting of the town council, said there needs to be a “do not play” notice at Frank’s Bridge because of the amount of raw sewage which is discharged into the River Eden at that point.
In October, the Herald revealed that Kirkby Stephen waterworks discharged untreated effluent into the River Eden for 4,063 hours in 2020 — which equates to over 169 days.
A spokesman for United Utilities said: “During storm conditions, when sewers and treatment plants are operating at full capacity, we are permitted to spill excess storm water from combined sewer overflows to help prevent the flooding of streets, homes and businesses.”
However, Mrs Sandell said: “They are discharging when they want to — not even when it’s raining. It’s not right, particularly with the new housing coming on board. I can’t see them having put in any infrastructure whatsoever to cope with that.
“They are also discharging at Frank’s Bridge, where children play. That’s appalling. There needs to be a notice saying ‘do not play’.”
Phil Dew, who is both and Eden and county councillor, said it would be worth the town council contacting United Utilities and asking them for some kind of comment about this, but he felt it should not be used as an excuse to halt development in Kirkby Stephen.
Kirkby Stephen was ranked 11th worst in Eden, in terms of the number of spills, and 168th in the country, while Ravenstonedale and Winton were ranked 12th and 13th worst in Eden.
The United Utilities spokesman added: “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and we agree that further investment in sewerage infrastructure is needed to modernise the system and improve water quality.
“During storm conditions, when sewers and treatment plants are operating at full capacity, we are permitted to spill excess storm water from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to help prevent the flooding of streets, homes and businesses.
“Over the past 20 years, United Utilities has invested £1.2 billion improving CSOs to reduce the amount and impact of spills.
“We are fully committed to taking what steps we can to reduce harm, investing in our own assets and working in partnership with others.”
