Ilkley River Wharfe bathing site gets upstream UV treatment

Ultraviolet (UV) light is being used to treat water before it is released into a river to improve the quality of bathing sites downstream.

Concerns have been raised about the water quality in the River Wharfe near Ilkley since it became a swimming spot.

Yorkshire Water said it will introduce disinfection measures temporarily at treatment works upstream at Draughton and Beamsley near Skipton.

It is hoped the work will improve the quality of the water along the river.

Treated water will pass by UV lights before it is eventually released into the River Wharf, breaking down organisms which remain in the effluent without using chemicals, Yorkshire Water said.

A stretch of the river in Ilkley became the first in England to be a designated bathing site in 2020, meaning pollution will be regularly monitored.

In January, it was given a water quality rating of "poor" by the Environment Agency.

Since then, Yorkshire Water said it had identified a number of properties that pumped raw wastewater directly into the river.

It added they were incorrectly connected to surface water systems.

The UV works are expected to improve the quality at the West Yorkshire bathing site this summer but also the 15.5 miles (25km) of river upstream to Grassington.

Grassington treatment works will also have UV treatment but work had been disrupted due to oystercatchers nesting nearby, Yorkshire Water added.

Ben Roche, director of wastewater at Yorkshire Water, said the company was looking for a permanent solution around disinfection at sites.

"While UV disinfection and the other measures we have outlined in our investment plan will help to improve water quality, they alone will not lead to an improvement in bathing water standards."

He called on land owners and stakeholders to look at where pollution was entering watercourses outside of Yorkshire Water's control.

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