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Mersey now "clean"?


observer

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Great to see the river Mersey get "clean" status.

 

I remember walking to Wilderspool in the 80's and 90's and the smell was not good and when you walked over Warrington new bridge you would see first hand the state of the river. Remember white foam that was always on there?

 

I used have bad dreams as a child of falling in the Mersey and never coming out as I thought I would melt or come out with two heads. :P

 

Not anymore and it is now a pleasure walking by the river and seeing rowers using the clean river. It would be nice if Warrington now utilised the clean river and re-introduced boats.

 

I have seen fish quite regularly over the last couple of years and yes I guess if I was hungry enough I would eat a fish from the river. Commercial fishing stopped in the 1940's and who knows. Mersey fish may make another appearance in Warrington Market in the future.v :P

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Wonder if they've got rid of the heavy metals from the river bed? :unsure:

Most of the 35 heavy metals deposits that are to be found in the Mersey that we should be concerned about are:-

Pb - Lead

Zn - Zinc

Cd - Cadmium

Cr - Chromium

As - Arsenic

Hg - Mercury

Cu - Copper

Ni - Nickel

Regular testing is carried out in the Mersey estuary as the majority of the contaminants were introduced from industry downstream ie. Widnes, Runcorn. Warrington's tanning industry was responsible for the dumping of effluents containing Chromium, Copper and Lead, as this industry no longer operates in the area it is unlikely that they remain in the river bed so far upstream. The weir at Howley is rarely breached unless there is an abnormally high tide also it's most unlikely that trace elements of heavy metals would be washed upstream and against the natural flow of the river.

Personally I would rather swim above the weir than enter the water at New Brighton or Ainsdale however as I can't swim it's not likely to affect me. :wink:

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You’d think it might be cleaner above the wear but I can tell you it can still get a bit wiffy during long hot periods when we’ve not had a lot of rain. The water up that way of course is exactly the same water that’s in the ship canal but if someone were to say that’s clean these days you’d have difficulties believing them.

 

The canal water is relatively clean and the fishing at the Manchester end is supposed to be quite good. It could be the heavy metals I suppose but I once caught a three-pound stickleback up there. B)

 

Bill :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I swam in the Mersey off New Brighton in the 50s and 60s and am still here. There used to be an annual police swim from New Brighton to Seacombe then as well and I didn't hear of any fatalities. I have ended up with an ear infection from Fordton Leisure baths. Read into that what you will!!! :blink: :blink:

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