Stop the sewage on Staveley streets and in our river Kent

Dear Staveley resident/business/organisation,
 
Due to the on-going efforts of Staveley with Ings Parish Council and local campaigning, the CEO of United Utilities, Louise Beardmore, has confirmed that she will visit Staveley on Monday 2 October 2023 to discuss the problems our community faces from sewage spilling onto our streets and into our precious river Kent.
 
This is a one-off opportunity for our community to show Louise the strength of local feeling about these issues and to call on her to put an end to sewage spills. 
 
Please read the letter and add your signature at the bottom – the more signatures we get, the stronger our message will be!
 
You can also include your own personal message(s) to make it even more powerful.
 
We propose presenting a pile of letters to Louise on Monday 2 October and inviting the media to cover our story.
 
This campaign is being organised by a group of individuals, supported by the Clean River Kent Campaign.
 
Thank you for your support.
 

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* 1. Please read the following letter to Louise Beardmore, CEO of United Utilities:

Louise Beardmore
CEO, United Utilities

Monday 2 October 2023

Dear Louise Beardmore,

STOP THE SEWAGE ON STAVELEY STREETS AND IN OUR RIVER

We, the residents and businesses of Staveley with Ings, call on United Utilities to put an end to years of sewage being discharged onto our streets and into the precious local River Kent.

During 2022, United Utilities discharged untreated sewage from the Staveley
Wastewater Treatment Works into the river Kent for a total of 4,064 hours – the equivalent of 169 continuous days and nights.

Since 2017, there have been 61 discharges of raw sewage from the United Utilities sewage system onto the streets of Staveley.

IT IS UNACCEPTABLE

- for our children to have to walk through raw sewage on the way to school, or risk getting ill as a result of swimming in our local river.

- for the unique ecology and wildlife of the river Kent to be slowly destroyed as a result of pollution in the river. It is an SSSI, has European conservation status and flows through a UNESCO world heritage site – does that count for nothing?

Information received from United Utilities suggests that:

- United Utilities will invest in their Staveley Wastewater Treatment Works between 2025 and 2030 to achieve no more than ten discharges per year into the river Kent.

- United Utilities will continue to ask Westmorland and Furness Council as the Local Lead Flood Authority to investigate how the Council can divert rainfall run-off away from the entering the sewage network.

- United Utilities don’t have the budget or resources to do more than the above.

These measures will NOT stop untreated sewage being discharged into the River Kent or appearing on the streets of Staveley during periods of high rainfall – particularly considering the increased pressure that climate change brings.

Is there no funding for reducing the pressure on the sewage pipes between Staveley and the treatment works?

We believe that United Utilities' target for Staveley should be:

ZERO DISCHARGE OF SEWAGE INTO THE RIVER KENT
ZERO DISCHARGE OF SEWAGE ONTO THE STREETS OF STAVELEY

We will continue to campaign until these targets are achieved.

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* 2. Please include below any other comments you would like to make to Louise Beardmore

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* 3. Please sign your name and any other names in your household/business below.

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* 4. Thank you so much for signing this letter!  Don't forget to click DONE now to submit your letter.

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