Bolton West campaigners raise alarm over waterway sewage

Figures from the Rivers Trust show that in 2023 sewage was dumped into waterways across the Bolton West area, which includes Westhoughton and Horwich, for 6,100 continuous hours.

This same year, Westhoughton alone saw 1,850 continuous hours of sewerage discharges going directly into Hall Lee Brook.

Environmental campaigner Paul Blinkhorn said: “It’s noticeable in the grey discoloured water, the stench and the scum on the surface of the water.

“It’s time we put our environment before profit.”

Concerns have been raised about the quality of waterways (Image: Paul Blinkhorn)

Campaigners in the area say that dog walkers and families out for weekend walks have been alarmed by the sewage dumping.

Cllr John McHugh, of Westhoughton South, said: “Westhoughton residents have contacted me in disgust at the raw sewage being discharged into their local waterways and I will continue to shine a light on this unacceptable state of affairs.”

This has also spread further afield, with the sewage dumped into Hall Lee Brook which then flows into Leigh via Westleigh Brook, behind Westleigh High School.

From there it flows on into Pennington Flash.

Both Bolton West and Leigh saw marked increases in the amount of sewage dumping compared to 2022 according to Rivers Trust data.

Cllr McHugh and his colleague Cllr David Chadwick have called for more action to tackle sewage dumping, while Labour candidate for Bolton West Phil Brickell tougher measures to be enacted.

He has also called for bonuses to be withheld from water company directors or legal action to be taken in some cases.

Mr Brickell said: “I’m a white water kayaker and I’ve spent countless hours enjoying our inland waterways.

“I know how poor water quality impacts our environment and I won’t tolerate it.

“People across Bolton West deserve better.”

But Bolton West Conservative MP Chris Green says that monitoring the dumping is the first step to tackling sewage discharge in areas like his.

Mr Green said: “Back in 2010 the Labour policy was not to monitor discharges, now that we’ve introduced some honesty into the system we can see the changes that need to be made.

“This is why a huge aspect of this is to control rainfall to prevent it from overflowing into the sewage system.”

Mr Green said that a “leaky dam” would soon be installed in Horwich to control rainfall further.

He said: “One of the challenges facing our sewage system is the uncontrolled house building allowed by the Labour council.

“So if they spent more time controlling that, we might be better able to control dumping in our sewage system.”

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Water company United Utilities says that it has also rolled out a range of projects aimed at improving the condition of borough’s waterways.

A spokesperson said: “We have seen one of the wettest years on record in the North West and that has contributed to an increased number of storm overflow operations compared to the previous year.

‘’Whilst the current system is designed to activate during rainfall, we understand and share people’s concerns and the need for change. 

“That’s why we are proposing a £3billion programme to tackle storm overflows in the North West between 2025 and 2030.

“In Bolton, we have already started work on four projects that will help to reduce the amount of times storm overflows operate and improve water quality across the borough.”