River Calder: Major review for Yorkshire river which is one of the worst in England for sewage spills
They agreed to widen the remit to look at all watercourses in the area to ensure the whole system is put under the microscope in a major review. Place Scrutiny Board was asked to take on the task by the full Calderdale Council, where the Calder was cited to be the second most polluted river in England.
Councillors heard some of the worst spills in the Calder Valley are on tributaries River Ryburn and Black Brook, which runs through West Vale. Board Chair Coun Sue Holdsworth said a wider remit could also take in canals and open water.
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Hide AdOf the River Calder, she said: “It’s not one single waterway.”


She told councillors it rises in Heald, Lancashire, and while it does not flow through either Halifax or Huddersfield town centres they are served by tributaries including Hebble Brook in Calderdale and the River Colne in Kirklees.
Tributaries including River Ryburn and Hebden Water, in Hebden Bridge, swell it before it heads through Mirfield, Dewsbury and Wakefield ahead of joining the River Aire at Castleford.
Coun Holdsworth added: “In order to make the River Colne navigable, in the mid-18th century the Calder and Hebble Navigation Canal was cut – this joins with the river so is effectively part of the same watercourse.”
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Hide AdCoun Helen Brundell said she had a spreadsheet of sewage spills in the Calder Valley.
“Within every single ward there are sewage spills – some of the worst are on the River Ryburn and Black Brook,” she said. “Some of the worst ones in Calderdale are on those tributaries so I would agree in terms of broadening the remit.
Coun Peter Hunt had said the broadest range of waterways should be included.
“It will be very interesting to show how ownership and responsibilities over these waterways have changed over the years and the impact of private ownership on some of these. It shines a light on responsibilities and who is willing to take action,” he said.
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Hide AdCoun Stephanie Clarke and Coun Dan Wood both said the waterways had to be looked at as a whole and the review be as all-encompassing as it could be.
Organisations which will be asked to contribute as well as the council include Yorkshire Water – which councillors heard has jurisdiction over the whole area – the Environment Agency, the National Farmers Union, the Calder Catchment Partnership, which is already working on the issue itself, the Calderdale Rivers Trust and another voluntary environmental organisation, Calder Future.
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