Mersey Basin Campaign | Items tagged pollution

Publication dateJanuary 2006 MBC003 Factsheet - Diffuse Pollution A brief factsheet on the issue of diffuse pollution (pollution that comes from a range of activities without a discrete source). This document defines diffuse pollution and covers types of diffuse pollution, its effects, the costs associated, and links to further reading and resources on the subject.

Publication dateNovember 2007 MBC025 Mersey People: The Regulator The Mersey and its people – for hundreds of years it has been impossible to say which influences the other most. Without the river there would have been no port, no merchants, no ferries, no shipbuilding. Many of the towns and cities that were the cradle of the industrial revolution wouldn’t exist, and countless lives defined by their relationship to the water would have been lived differently. But the river, too, has been shaped by its people. Dredged, bridged and canalised, its natural flow has been changed to better serve us. It has been polluted by industry, and revived by a clean-up campaign that is the envy of the world. With the Mersey in the midst of a renaissance, many 21st century lives are still entwined with it, whether for employment, recreation or inspiration. From ferrymen to cabinet ministers, policement to anglers, their stories tell the tale of the Mersey, the river that changed the world. For more information visit: http://www.riverthatchangedtheworld.com/mersey In this episode, Diane Walker, an Environment Agency regulator talks about her work, the problems of tracing pollution in the Mersey and its tributaries.

Publication dateJune 2003 MBC034 Bathing Beauties Iain Herbert investigates an EU-funded Interreg project - ICREW - which surveyed and re-designated the Northwest's bathing and recreational waters.

Publication dateSeptember 2003 MBC039 Chemical Solutions Paul Unger reports on the extent to which environmental standards were impacting on the way the chemicals industry operated in the Northwest - how chemicals companies contributed to the huge improvements in water quality in our rivers, and how the Environment Agency regulates their activities.

Publication dateDecember 2003 MBC045 Stream of Words Elliot Morley, then Minister for Environment and Agri-Environment talks to Walter Menzies, Chief Executive of the Mersey Basin Campaign. The wide-ranging interview covers the regeneration of Liverpool ahead of its Capital of Culture designation, issues of pollution, public participation in the Water Framework Directive, and the PR04 review of water prices 2005-10.

Publication dateApril 2000 MBC056 The Mersey Estuary - back from the dead? Solving a 150 year old problem The Mersey Estuary has suffered a legacy of abuse and neglect since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The discharge of effluents from manufacturing processes, together with wastewater from the burgeoning centres of population, resulted in the estuary gaining the unenviable reputation of bring one of the most polluted rivers in Europe. As a result of the long awaited remedial action, which has been implemented over the past fifteen years, there is now unequivocal evidence that the water quality of the river and the biology of the system have improved significantly and will continue to do so as further planned alleviation schemes are completed. This paper reviews the achievements, which have been made at the halfway stage in the 25-year multi-billion pound clean up campaign.

Publication dateMarch 2007 MBC065 The Mersey Estuary: a case of mistaken identity...almost! Article dealing with the mistaken inclusion of the Mersey Estuary in a list of marine 'dead zones' in 2006.

Publication dateSeptember 2004 MBC071 The Hidden Pollution Water quality within the Mersey catchment has significantly improved in recent years due to the large amount of investment in wastewater treatment works. However pollution is still a serious problem with household chemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products having unexpected effects in the natural environment. Edwin Colyer explores the damaging effect on the environment that these everyday substances can cause, as well as looking at the issues concerning diffuse pollution from urban and rural sources.