Industrial wastewater flows into river mouth
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I am leaning over a small river in the pretty village of St Agnes in Cornwall, England, watching the clear water flow through the grate and into the concrete conduit below the road. Josie Purcell of the West Country Rivers Trust, an environmental charity, says the grates are there to trap debris that could clog the channels and prevent fish from swimming freely. It clearly does its job. There are some sticks, some vegetation, and crispy packets.
Downstream is the Peterville Pumping Station. This should help clear the water before it flows into the magnificent Trevonance Cove.The station also handles sewage from the village. However, sometimes heavy rains can overwhelm them, causing untreated water to flow into the beaches and ocean. Last October, the activist group Surfers Against Sewage issued a sewage warning for the bay after parts of the sea turned brown. It’s ridiculous, says South West Water, the local water and sewage company. After heavy rains, the mud was simply washed away from the fields. Nevertheless, according to official figures, the Peterville Station was responsible for his 32 overspills of varying amounts into the cove in 2021, totaling over 166 hours.
These problems epitomize the problems plaguing rivers and streams across the UK. Garbage, pollution, sewage, agricultural runoff, barriers to fish migration, other forms of river engineering, and ineffective wastewater systems. “There are big problems facing our rivers, and they are far-reaching,” he said…
