1. Present:
Jill (chair), Lynn, Roger, Andy, Don, Gerard, Carl, Sheelagh, Judith, Jules, Kate
2. Introductions:
Jill welcomed everyone and introductions were made. Particularly pleased to welcome Don Stazicker from the Cressbrook and Litton Flyfishers Club.
3. Updates:
Jill asked Lynn to update the meeting on conversations and emails since the general TDEG meeting on water quality on 9 October. A full summary of that meeting and the presentations can be found here .
Lynn reported back on emails and conversations with Martyn Owen (Environment Agency) and Alistair Boxall (York University).
- Martyn Owen (EA) – Our TDEG secretary, Fiona, was sending the list of questions raised at the general meeting to Martyn Owen for further comment. But in the meantime, Lynn had raised the issue of small rural waste water treatment works (WWTWs) with Martyn. Was the Tideswell WWTW operating at lower standards than WWTWs elsewhere. Martyn said no. Although technically, it was serving a population of under 2000 (ignoring tourist impacts), it was still operating at much higher standards than required, due to it discharging into the River Wye system. As the River Wye system was considered extremely sensitive for environmental reasons, our WWTW had higher operating standards, including advanced secondary treatments. But this of course raises the questions – if the WWTW is that good, why are pharmaceutical concentrations still so high in Tideswell Brook? And why is untreated sewage released more than 125 times in a year into the Brook? Martyn Owen also pointed out that local EA officers could only work to existing environmental standards and regulations.
- Alistair Boxall – the research professor who undertook the original study into pharmaceutical pollution in streams and rivers across several English National Parks. He is of the view that pharmaceutical pollution in Tideswell Brook could be particularly high for several reasons, and it is difficult to suggest just one is mainly or even entirely responsible. Possible reasons include:
• Tideswell Brook is a `low flow` stream – so the concentration of any pollutants is higher.
• Our slightly older population might be using and flushing more medications down drains.
• Pharmaceuticals are a `modern problem`, and not yet subject to the same monitoring and removal standards/regulations as other pollutants (such as phosphates and nitrates).
• Poor infrastructure/capacity issues mean water companies use stormwater overflows more frequently, releasing untreated sewage.
Alistair was keen to undertake more research to investigate these issues thoroughly – but funding applications would take time. Alistair was also keen to support us further, and might be able to assist with any chemical analyses. He has previous experience of assisting Surfers Against Sewage with such `citizen science` type work. He emphasised that it is important to try to sample streams immediately any pollution is suspected, as the `evidence` quickly washes away.
- These issues were discussed further:
Don explained that their Flyfishers Club had undertaken detailed monitoring of the River Wye for decades. Phosphate levels are much better than in previous years – almost immeasurable in the River Wye. The Club is able to call on various experts (e.g. Nick Everall on water toxicology) to undertake chemical monitoring and also the River Fly Partnership (https://www.riverflies.org/) for invertebrate monitoring (e.g. Water Shrimp, May Fly and Caddis Fly larvae). Big improvements had been seen since the Buxton WWTW had been improved.
However, Don confirmed that there was little monitoring of Tideswell Brook, or other small brooks in our area (such as Cressbrook or Monks Dale) by the Flyfishers Club, and certainly not by the Environment Agency (EA). So this could be an area for us to focus on.
Don also felt there was a real issue of the EA not following through with prosecutions around known pollution incidents which the club had clearly identified (is it resources? Is it political?).
Local residents have reported to TDEG various suspected pollution incidents in Tideswell Brook, and the EA Hotline has been called. EA staff do attend, but often a few days later.
4. TDEG Membership?
Tideswell & District Environment Group has a devolved structure, with various sub groups, who undertook the main group activities. Read more about TDEG here – https://tdeg.org.uk/ . This Rivers and Brooks Group could be one of these groups. The benefits included an existing group structure; insurance for most activities; an existing bank account and separate budgets for each group; and use of TDEG web site, facebook group page, and mailing system (which met all GDPR requirements).
It was agreed by all present that this seemed a good way forward. It was agreed that the group should be called the Rivers and Brooks Group.
5. Group discussion:
a. Derbyshire Climate Coalition – Sheelagh reported back on her Derbyshire Climate Coalition meeting with our new Derbyshire Dales MP, John Whitby. John has been appointed to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/62/environmental-audit-committee/), and is making climate change issues one of his particular priorities. The discussion in the DCC meeting focused on various climate change issues, and Sheelagh was asked to raise the issue of water quality in our local rivers. She was pleased to use the summaries of the various TDEG discussions on the issue to do that. Sheelagh left John with five `asks`:
• Would he push for changes in legislation, particularly around holding the water companies to account and pharmaceutical monitoring and management?
• Could he ensure that pharmaceutical pollution is included in the EA’s monitoring of river quality?
• Could he ensure the law was enforced with regard to water companies’ responsibilities?
• Increased funding and resources for the Environment Agency.
• National Park waterways should be of the highest quality.
Derbyshire Climate Coalition will be following up all queries with John. We could also add our voices and support on these priorities. Sheelagh will send a copy of the follow up email to Jill (and any response).
b. Canoes, Kayaking and Swimming – Roger explained that the current rules for water access for both paddlers and swimmers was extremely complex and contentious. But access downstream (such as at Matlock) clearly meant these activities were also affected by pollution upstream.
Jill confirmed that swimmers were particularly concerned about antibiotic resistance affecting swimmers, and she would investigate this further.
c. Angling – Don explained that the Cressbrook & Litton Flyfishers Club had 350 active anglers, and 7 professional keepers. He was the CLFC Rivers Conservancy officer. The anglers are very good at reporting any obvious pollution incidents on the River Wye. Their monitoring (described earlier) could identify trends and records are available online. Their monitoring stations had already identified issues with the River Wye below where Tideswell Brook enters the river. So he felt that our focus on the brook would be very helpful to them as well. Don would be happy to arrange tutoring for any group members who would like to undertake river fly monitoring in our local brooks. It does need careful planning and regular sampling. Don is keen to work with us and support us (and would also be happy to lead a walk along the brook for school children, or provide a talk on the River Wye generally).
d. Agriculture – Don also explained what he knew about changes in the way local farms managed phosphates and nitrates which might inadvertently enter the water course, causing over enrichment, algal blooms etc. The EA had visited all the farms in our area and there had been a lot of improvements (more info can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catchment-sensitive-farming-reduce-agricultural-water-pollution). We still need to be vigilant about accidents with farm slurry or domestic incidents, etc.
e. Community actions: How can local people make a difference to local water quality? If Tideswell WWTW is unable to cope with the amount of water running through it on over 125 occasions last year, it was clearly not adequate for the level of use. Could we seek clarification on why this was `permitted` outside extreme weather events?
There were things which local people could do to help though. We could use this to approach Sever Trent and discuss how we might raise awareness on these issues. Don mentioned that only ‘pee, poo and paper’ should be disposed of down toilet – other solid materials were a real problem, adding to blockages and overflows.
Lynn mentioned that Severn Trent were providing `slow release` water butts to local residents in Cromford. These reduced extreme peak flows by collecting rain water from downpipes. Possibly a good, positive project to pursue locally?
Could we raise awareness of these issues through involving young people, local schools, cubs and scouts, etc?
f. Severn Trent Water: We need to identify a named person to liaise with at STW (Kate had some good contacts). As far as we understand, the water companies are currently in negotiation with OFWAT and the government, with detailed plans in our area to reduce stormwater overflows to under 10 a year by 2030 (including at Tideswell WWTW). But this will require £billions of investment. The companies are therefore asking OFWAT to allow it to increase water bills by a set percentage (rising by an average of £19 a year across all water companies, between 2025 and 2030 – a 21% increase over that period). A decision on this will be made by OFWAT in mid December.
Can we find out if the new targets would include treatment for pharmaceuticals (i.e. would this make any difference to these pollutants?)?Can we find out why STW are allowed to release untreated sewage in stormwater overflows 125 times a year? And who is monitoring how accurate this figure is?
The Water Framework Directive is part of European Union retained legislation, which the UK kept after Brexit. But the government does not have to accept small amendments to the WFD. Can we persuade our current government to follow some of the initiatives currently being pursued in the EU to add pharmaceuticals to the list of pollutants monitored, with required action, including making the pharmaceutical industry more responsible for drug levels in our waste water?
Who is responsible for flooding incidents – is it STW or the EA? Neil Buttle (our local Derbyshire Dales District Councillor) is looking at initiatives to reduce flooding and extreme weather water levels in Tideswell Brook, to reduce the flooding of properties. We should be aware that reducing water flow generally might make the concentration of pollutants higher in the brook – but dealing with peak flows might be particularly important.
There can be confusion about whether the focus should be on water flow in the Brook (which does not run through the WWTW), and the separate combined waste water system. Is it possible to obtain a map of the network – maybe from STW?
AGREED ACTIONS
- Set up the Rivers & Brooks Group under the TDEG umbrella. Includes mailchimp email system via TDEG web site, plus a new web page on the TDEG site (covering our aims and objectives), and promote via Facebook and other social media platforms. Jill and Lynn
- Liaison with Severn Trent Water – identify a named contact (possibly through the regional ecologist – Graham Osbourne). Find out more about the Cromford garden water butt project. Possible map of the waste water network and its relationship to Tideswell Brook. Kate
- Research other local groups with shared concerns and interests. Andy
- Continued liaison through Derbyshire Climate Coalition. Set up a meeting with our local MP, John Whitby, to follow through on our concerns and find out what the government is proposing. Sheelagh
- Identify a tutor to train a possible team for river fly monitoring. Possible other contacts on the chemical analysis of the brook. Don
- Research EU legislation on the Water Framework Directive and pharmaceuticals. Lynn
- Research impacts of pharmaceuticals/drug resistance in swimmers. Jill and Jo
- Investigate what is known about different concentrations of pharmaceutical pollution and its possible treatment in WWTWs. Roger
- Investigate the impacts of pet treatments on water quality. Judith
- Share photos of Tideswell Brook – general scenes, river fly monitoring, wildlife, sewage outflow, etc. for us on the TDEG web site. Carl and Don
- Consider creative ways to engage with local people on these issues (e.g. adopting a River Charter), and celebrating our local rivers and brooks. Sheelagh
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
26 February 2025
