Harbour's orange water gets cross-government team

A cross-government team is to be set up in a bid to tackle a long-running issue with brown and orange harbour water, an MP says.

Tests have identified iron ochre getting into Queens Dock, at Whitehaven, Cumbria, through a culvert.

Labour's Josh MacAlister, who represents the Whitehaven and Workington constituency, has met with the minister for water and officials from several agencies and said "some progress" had been made.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was "working to identify a long-term solution".

The culvert releases water collected from Bransty Beck and a drainage system in the Bransty railway tunnel, which has started to flood in recent years.

For decades, water has drained from the tunnel into the harbour without any issue.

However, since late 2022 the harbour water has been heavily discoloured.

MacAlister said the "purpose of the meeting was to bang some heads together" and had resulted in an agreement for six government departments and agencies to work together with efforts co-ordinated by Defra.

"I've been going round in circles for months with agencies refusing to take responsibility for developing and delivering a solution that restores our harbour to its natural state," he said.

"I'm pleased to say we made some progress.

"That cross-government team will work up proposals to tackle the contaminated minewater and its impact on the Bransty tunnel and the harbour, and work together to secure the necessary funding to deliver a treatment scheme."

Last year, MacAlister said he believed the problem was being caused by gravel under the railway track becoming saturated with flood water having previously acted as a "natural filter" to catch any iron ochre.

He had called on Network Rail to put temporary measures in place to carry out further inspections and remedial works to start to remove and replace the gravel.

Deanne Shallcross, from Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, has described the "horrendous" situation as "100% a visitor deterrent" and warned it was causing "reputational damage".

A Defra spokesman said: "We are working closely with the local MP, Network Rail, the Coal Authority, Whitehaven Marina Authority and the Environment Agency to identify a long-term solution to this complex issue."

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