Effluent on the River Aire

With kind permission from Martin James I would like to share this in the hope that all anglers can unite and fight for the rights of our beautiful countryside which so many hold close to their hearts.

The following are excerpts taken from Martin’s site and are a record of his fight to save one of his favourite rivers from disaster.

A shot of the effluent problem at the River Aire

For a long time we have had a problem on the River Aire near Skipton with effluent coming into the river from a pipe. It stinks; it’s a horrid black colour, sometimes a grey colour. Underneath the liquid there is some 3ft of horrid sludge. It affects both Bradford No 1 AA and Bradford City AA.

Dam wall built by Martin and his son

As you can see from the pictures me and my son have built a dam around the effluent. The river is full of fry at present; we could lose everything if this effluent gets into the river. I feel the EA have let us anglers down rather badly.

Below is a letter I sent the Head of Fisheries at the EA with Mr Evans’ prompt reply. I also had a quick response from Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans who writes:

“Hi Martin, it looks bloody awful…..I will get onto it straight away. Nigel.”

Dear Mr Evans

I am writing to you, as I understand that you are head of fisheries at the EA. For some time the EA have been aware that we have had a major problem at Funkirk Farm on the River Aire near Skipton. (Picture attached) This problem has been going on for several years unchecked, yet no-one at the EA is prepared to see an end to the problem. All I get are excuses such as we do not know where the effluent is coming from. Surely it’s up to your people to do some work and find out where it’s coming from and what this effluent actually is. We have two pipes side-by-side coming into the river. I am sure it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out where the effluent originates from by doing some tests.

To the best of my knowledge no one has taken any samples for analysis. Surely this should be a priority.

Martin James

Martin was contacted by Mr Evans following his letter:

Martin, Thank you for yesterday’s e-mail and the picture showing effluent entering a watercourse. I can understand your concern given the current low flow conditions.

To give you a full response I will need to make contact with the Area Manager, Paul Tullet, who is responsible for operational delivery for all of the Agency’s activities, including fisheries, for the Ridings area.

I will be in contact again as soon as I am able to discuss the matter with Paul.

Dafydd Evans
Head of Fisheries

The following day Martin returned to the river.

I was on the river at 6:30 this morning, as I was rather worried about the effluent getting into the river with all the extra rain over night. The river was up about three inches. The dam was holding. About 10-30 this morning two guys came and pumped off a lot of the effluent, in fact they filled the tanker. They then went off to empty the said tank and will return this afternoon to take even more effluent off. What was interesting, once they had pumped off a lot of the liquid the waste coming from the pipe went from black to grey then quite clear. I feel its important that we find the source and deal with the problem. I am going back again this afternoon; hopefully we can get rid of the sludge, which will be of great help. It’s been a long week but it has to be done.

A sad site to see on any river!

I have just got home after sitting on the river bank since 1:10pm, waiting for them to come and pump off the waste again. Its nearly at the top of the dam again. I also gave the farm workers a dozen cans of beer as a thank you for something that didn’t happen. I will drive over there again tomorrow morning and see if I can get them to pump again. As they were pumping I wanted to get into the pit and rake the slurry so it gets pumped out. Once we get rid of that sludge we can start to breathe, the dam is holding, despite the river rising up about 10 inches, and then dropping back down.

Once again Martin returned to the river the following day worried about the conditions

I was on the river very early this morning hoping not to see any dead fish through the effluent escaping. Thankfully the dam was holding. The river had gone back down. Around 11 o’clock this morning Matthew from the farm turned up to pump off the effluent. As he pumped it off, I was in the pit raking all the stinking sludge towards the pump. After what seemed hours but was probably thirty minutes the effluent was in the tanker, along with much of the sludge. All my chub fry are safe for the present time. Remember these fry are like newborn babies and are very fragile.

Sadly no help from the EA. All this week I have been on the river for an average of about 12 hours a day since Sunday working to save our fish. I should have been fishing with some friends chasing some big bream, and I couldn’t fish the Aire, as it has been low and horrid.

Again Martin returned to the river the next day only to find that what he had dreaded had happened

Through a rise on the River Aire on Friday or Saturday night the dam broke and lots of fry were lost. I cannot put a number on the total – It could be several thousand. I just don’t know.

When I arrived on the river today the gulls were still having a feast. I found lots of dead fry left behind in the margins. Where last week I had huge clouds of fry, most had now gone. I called the EA on 0800-807060 but they didn’t seem bothered. I called another guy at the EA who said he might be out later in the week.

Martin’s fears became a reality when the dam wall broke

Having scoured the roadside and hedgerow today I think I might have found the pipe that runs from the road to the river. I am going to buy some table tennis balls tomorrow, which I will put in the pipe and see if they end up at the bottom of my problem pipe where it comes into the river.

Today I scoured my town trying to get hold of some Hessian sacks, eventually striking lucky. I have put a sack over the mouth of the pipe hoping it will trap the rubbish. It’s all I can do.

Once more Martin returns to the river in the hope something can be done to save the fish

Today there was sewage in the pool of effluent. Another guy, Barry Leeson from Skipton, noticed the problem and called the EA, as did Dave Summerscales. When I arrived Barry was on site. The guy from the EA arrived, and we got the impression he was quite shocked at what he was seeing as he told us this is a Class 1 river and this is certainly a big problem.

He went off to ask the farmer if he could pump off the effluent. The farmer hoped to do something for us over the weekend, even though this was nothing to do with him. He is just helping out at the request of the EA or myself. I try to make sure that Matthew, who pumps off the stuff, gets a few cans of beer. Seeing Barry and David at the site makes me feel better knowing others are noticing this effluent. I am no longer a voice in the wilderness. I had a letter from my MP, Nigel Evans today who writes:

Dear Martin

Many thanks for your recent letter regarding difficulties you have experienced in gaining a reply from Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency. I have written with your concern to the Rt Hon Margaret Becket MP, Secretary of State for the Environment, Fisheries and Food. As soon as I receive a reply I shall be in contact.

Nigel said, “In gaining a reply from Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency”. In fact I have had a reply from Dafydd Evans. It’s getting some action to cure the problem that bothers me. No doubt a press release will come out from the EA full of spin.

David Summerscales, who visited the site is the head bailiff of Bradford No 1 AA and while there he shot some pictures. I also discussed with him the site of a manhole cover. We discussed various problems including what the manhole cover hides, where the pipe or pipes come from and where they go? He is going to make some investigations. It was nice meeting with Barry and Dave. Both are concerned and they are going to put on more pressure including their MP’s and local press. I would like to thank everyone for their support.

At last the EA responded but their actions towards this was not what Martin was expecting

I have just got in from the Aire, where the effluent has been pumped off for about the fifth time. The sack I had fixed at the mouth of the pipe to collect any sludge coming down the pipe has been removed. All the sludge below the pipe has been covered with silty sand from the riverbank. I suppose if it’s covered, it will not be seen.

This isn’t the answer, the problem is still there. Its what I call a botch up. We must keep the pressure on the EA and ensure the problem is solved. I haven’t spent the past 11 days protecting the river to see all that work disappear with a lot of dead fish. The picture tells the full story. At least a lot of people are now getting involved and I would like to say thank you to everyone for your support. I have tonight sent the following letter to Dafydd Evans Head of Fisheries at the EA:

Dear Dafydd

I have just got in from the Aire, the effluent has been pumped off for about the fifth time. The sack I had fixed at the mouth of the pipe to collect sludge has been removed. All the sludge has been covered with silty sand from the riverbank. I suppose if it’s covered it will not be seen. This isn’t the answer. The problem is still there. Its what I call a Heath Robertson botch up. We intend to keep the pressure on the EA and ensure the problem is solved.

Part of the EA solution, just hide it and it will go away!

Not only do we pay a rod licence fee, we are also tax payers and we deserve a better service than what we are getting from the EA as regards this problem, which has been going on for far to long. If this had been a salmonid river we reckon the problem would have been dealt with far quicker. I haven’t spent the past 11 days protecting the river to see all that work disappear in a load of dead fish. We have already lost large numbers of fry. Once the fish have gone so will the kingfishers. Dafydd, Please do not allow the local area EA to sweep this under the carpet or should I say sand.

Botch up by the Environment Agency

This is the latest update on the River Aire Effluent problem. The following are letters between the local EA and me. At the bottom of this piece I have detailed what has happened today. Seeing fish dying through the behaviour of idiots makes me angry. Doesn’t anyone care?

Hi Martin

I am just back from a week’s holiday, hence late reply to your E-mails. Having spoken with colleagues, I understand the problems at Heslaker farm have now been resolved. Thanks you for your help in dealing with this matter.

Regards Pat

Dear Pat

Where do you get the idea that the problem is resolved. Its still there, but covered partially by sand. We have lost a lot of fry how many big fish are we going to lose before the EA get to grips with the problem and cure it. This is not good enough.

Martin James

This is the latest update I received from Martin

I have just returned from the River Aire, where I was joined by a journalist and photographer from the Craven Herald. Another member Barry Leeson was also present. Barry has written to his MP about this horrid business.

As we stood at the waterside we watched small fry dying in the effluent escaping from the area where the dam was demolished. It’s a bloody disgrace. I do not know what more I can do. Also there was liquid coming down the pipe. It wasn’t surface water because we haven’t had any rain. Also the chub in the pool below have disappeared I can usually get them taking bread off the top. Nothing.

Many fry from the river have died as a result

Martin has stuck with this and to see such life thrown away is very upsetting for him. I too cannot stand by and have contacted a friend at the EA in the hope that the pressure we are all applying will force them to look more closely at the effluent and where this horrid waste-like material is coming from.

As anglers we need to unite together to form a strong hand in the fight against pollution and to let it be known that we will not be happy until incidents like this are a thing of the past. If you care about your rivers and the life we share when out on the banks please help, write to your MP or raise your voice so that we can banish this and other incidents forever.

I myself would like to thank Martin and all those involved for their time and effort as without such caring anglers our rivers stand little chance and the children of tomorrow will never know what secrets our rivers hold and the wonderful times that can be found at the waters edge.

If you wish to follow the progress of this incident please visit Martin’s web site for the latest developments at Martin James Fishing