Water quality worries for reservoir bosses

8:02am Saturday 26th January 2013 in News

TWO Bolton reservoirs have been declared “water safeguard zones” by utility bosses because of fears over falling water quality in the surrounding area.

United Utilities took the action amid concerns that water supplies leading to Wayoh and Entwistle reservoirs, near Edgworth, were worsening, with pollutants, algae and discolouration among the possible problems.

The area is one of 38 across the North West which have now been designated “water safeguard zones” because local rivers, reservoirs and boreholes are getting worse.

The firm is due to host a series of events inviting companies and landowners to come together and help identify any underlying problems.

The company said that although customers’ tap water is not affected, if the problems are not tackled it could mean that water from the reservoirs — which supply 40 per cent of Bolton’s drinking water — will need to be treated with increasingly expensive and environmentally- unfriendly chemicals to make it fit to drink.

Catchment strategy manager Kate Snow, who monitors water quality for United Utilities, said: “In some cases this deterioration has been happening over decades as the result of practices which are long established.

“Practices like draining bogs, done to provide improvement to grazing land in the past, we now know are not good for water quality, biodiversity or the environment.”

Safeguard zones can be established in any drinking water protected area which yields more than ten thousand litres of water a day for consumption, and where raw water quality has got worse over time as a result of human activity.

She added: “This designation isn’t saying why the problem is occurring or who is responsible, but it acknowledges that there is one. Working with the Environment Agency, we want to bring local people together to ask them what they think is causing the problem and think about what could be done."

Comments (6)

9:29am Sat 26 Jan 13

angus macoatup says...

no to flouride flouride is toxic waste
no to flouride flouride is toxic waste angus macoatup

9:54am Sat 26 Jan 13

Puffin-Billy says...

No, Mr Mayor Guy Harkin,
-no mass medication with fluoride.
No, Mr Mayor Guy Harkin, -no mass medication with fluoride. Puffin-Billy

11:15am Sat 26 Jan 13

Phil from Smithills says...

There's no need to treat water supply with fluoride to prevent tooth decay, just have fluoride toothpaste
There's no need to treat water supply with fluoride to prevent tooth decay, just have fluoride toothpaste Phil from Smithills

12:04pm Sat 26 Jan 13

cartman66 says...

There use to be men employed by the water board (as it was called then) who maintained the land drains that run the water off the land into the reservoirs but they was all laid off in the 70s to cut maintenance costs so now these drains/gullys (can't remember what they called them) are now dirty slimey and overgrown that is in major problem I know this because my neighbour was one of them men and he told me years ago that without regular maintinance the reservoirs would be contaminated and so here we are.
So united utilities instead of spending millions on technology and the stability studies just employ more ground work teams to maintain the areas that feed our reservoirs and we can have clean drinking water with less chemicals.
That's my answer but they won't listen as it will just eat into there profits and profit is all they care about.
There use to be men employed by the water board (as it was called then) who maintained the land drains that run the water off the land into the reservoirs but they was all laid off in the 70s to cut maintenance costs so now these drains/gullys (can't remember what they called them) are now dirty slimey and overgrown that is in major problem I know this because my neighbour was one of them men and he told me years ago that without regular maintinance the reservoirs would be contaminated and so here we are. So united utilities instead of spending millions on technology and the stability studies just employ more ground work teams to maintain the areas that feed our reservoirs and we can have clean drinking water with less chemicals. That's my answer but they won't listen as it will just eat into there profits and profit is all they care about. cartman66

1:30pm Sun 27 Jan 13

boltonnut says...

It won't cut into their profit,it will come out of YOUR pocket.
It won't cut into their profit,it will come out of YOUR pocket. boltonnut

2:53pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Puffin-Billy says...

Shouldn't we be gully - blocking on the moorland instead of trying to drain it?

The boggy moors above Bolton should be encouraged to revert to their natural function, as sponges, retaining and filtering the water supply.

And shouldn't we try to plant more trees in order to encourage that process?

Weren't most of the artificial water courses originally built to supply water for industrial use anyway?
Shouldn't we be gully - blocking on the moorland instead of trying to drain it? The boggy moors above Bolton should be encouraged to revert to their natural function, as sponges, retaining and filtering the water supply. And shouldn't we try to plant more trees in order to encourage that process? Weren't most of the artificial water courses originally built to supply water for industrial use anyway? Puffin-Billy

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