Campaigners raise fears over chalk stream sewage

Concerns have been raised about sewage being discharged into a "pristine" chalk stream.

Matt Arnold, of the East Yorkshire Rivers Trust, said a storm overflow at Kilham, near Driffield, had been running into Lowthorpe Beck for more than 120 hours.

"Our concern is that whatever comes out is affecting what is living in the stream," he said.

Yorkshire Water said the discharge, from a water treatment works, was mainly spring water which had been filling up its storm tank, but diluted waste water had also been discharged.

Mr Arnold said trout moved upstream to spawn at this time of year.

"It's not just what's going in the stream here, it affects the population of fish all the way down," he added.

In a statement, Yorkshire Water said: "Overflows into the region's watercourses are not what we, or our customers, want to see.

"Underground springs and groundwater can cause infiltration into our network and treatment works.

"These flows were being discharged into the watercourse to prevent flooding."

In February last year, residents in Kilham complained sewage was flowing down the street after the drainage system was overwhelmed by high levels of groundwater.

Yorkshire Water said it was planning to spend £1.6m on improvements in Kilham and £140m on reducing storm discharges around the East Riding.

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