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Sewage levels in river concern campaign group

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date04 April 2024
Publication titleEvening Chronicle
A Newcastle University report based on samples taken from the river in 2021 warned that the amount of raw sewage in the Ouseburn is a "significant risk" to people's health

It also found that there were high levels of faecal bacteria in the river, and prompted calls for real-time pollution alerts to be issued.

Three years later, it has been revealed that more and more sewage is being dumped into rivers and seas. Figures released this week by the Environment Agency show that sewage was released into the region's waterways by Northumbrian Water's overflows for more than 280,000 hours alone - some of which go directly into the Ouseburn.

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Surely it's for Water to Ouseburn John

Well known for the neighbourhood named after it on the banks of the River Tyne, and its passing through Jesmond Dene, some may not know that the Ouseburn's source is at Callerton, near Newcastle Airport. In October 2023, a £1m fund was launched to kickstart a massive regeneration, including new cycle paths and walkways, reintroducing wildlife, and vastly improving water quality.

The idea for the seven-mile nature trail has been put forward by the Reece Foundation, and is being supported by a community group called the Ouseburn Way League (OWL).

The OWL say that they are "concerned"

about the level of sewage in the Ouseburn, with one member, John Wilson, saying that the Ouseburn river was being used as an "open sewer".

He said: "There are 16 combined outflows that go into the Ouseburn and these are adversely affecting the wildlife, and when the sewage goes in, there's a risk to humans who use the banks of the Ouseburn to play and so on."

Retired teacher John pointed to the example of Paris, where a £1.2bn project is in place to clean up the River

Seine in time for this summer's Olympic games.

John said: "If Parisians can do it for the whole of the Seine in Paris, surely it's possible for Newcastle and Northumbrian Water to make the Ouseburn clean. It's a very important corridor for wildlife, used extensively by...

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