The River Lee
the country’s most polluted river!
We are told that rivers in England are in the best condition for decades.
But some are not; some are getting worse.
Raw sewage is flowing through Tottenham, Clapton and Hackney along the
River Lee. Off the scale levels of phosphates are causing the River Lee to
choke with weed every year. The East End’s biggest river is being treated like
an open sewer. It will only get worse as the pressures on the sewage system
increase.
What’s the problem?
Sewage – When it rains, our sewage systems can’t cope with the extra water
in the drains. As a result millions of tonnes of sewage is pumped into the River
Lee each year. The toilets from thousands of homes in the Lee Valley are also
misconnected, meaning people are flushing their toilet waste into the local
river without knowing it. Research by Thames21 and University College London shows the amount of faecal e-coli bacteria in the river regularly exceeds
international standards.
Phosphates – Phosphates are chemicals found in dishwasher tablets and other household products. They travel through our drains and sewage systems
ending up in the River Lee. Here, they act as fertilisers, making weed growth
explode and stopping sunlight and oxygen getting through to the river. This
kills plants and fish. There are far fewer fish in the River Lee than 10 years
ago.
Misuse of drains - Chemicals, oil, paint and detergents poured down street
drains go to the river. If someone washes their car in the street, the oils and
chemicals washed from the car end up going down the drain and into the river.
We need to start acting now. Our sewer systems must be upgraded, we need
to cut the amount of storm water that goes down the drain – flooding the
sewers. Some improvements will take longer to make, but we can all start reducing the problem now.
Love The Lee!
Thames21 is London’s Leading waterways charity. We have set up a new
campaign called Love the Lee. This is for the whole Lee Valley – all the rivers
that flow through East London are polluted .
Thames21 will lead the call for a new way to deal with wastewater; one that
uses rainwater instead of just pouring it into the sewers; that uses the environment to soak up the rainwater, reducing the flooding risk; a way that sees our
sewage treated properly and not pumped into the River Lee.
What can we do?
•
Sign up to LOVE THE LEE - We will fight for all the rivers in this part of
London, but we need you to stand with us.
Email [email protected],
Visit our website http://thames21.org.uk/LovetheLee
•
Check for misconnections – Make sure that your waste water pipes are
properly connected and not going into drains that lead to the river. Visit http://
www.thameswater.co.uk/ search misconnected to find out how.
•
Switch to phosphate free - Switch your dishwasher tablets to those that
are phosphate-free by checking the ingredients list. The contents of some
brands are more than 30% phosphate!
•
Take a trip to the carwash - Proper garage carwashes have a drainage
system that takes the dirty water to the sewers and not into the drains that go
to the local river.
•
Report pollution – If you spot it, report it! Call the Environment Agency’s
incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 (Freephone from a landline, charged at network operators call rates from a mobile, 24 hour service).
•
Collect your rainwater, a precious resource! - Help prevent sewage systems being overloaded by rainwater when we get heavy rain. Collect rainwater
using a water butt, which can then be used to water your plants or garden.
•
River-friendly paving – Think about using surfacing that lets water pass
through, or use gravel. Hard surfacing means rainwater flows straight into
street drains, instead of soaking into the ground slowly.
Love the Lee – Save the River