Faith
ambassadors and community leaders back improving
water quality
With only two months
to go, people are being urged to have their
say on the future of our water environment
through a public consultation.
Prominent leaders from
major faith and community groups in the
West Midlands are appealing to people from
all sections of society to support work
led by the Environment Agency which aims
to create a better water environment.
The public consultation,
which was launched in December, calls for
improving water quality in the Midlands
region, which falls within two river basin
districts, the Severn and Humber.
Water is an element
which plays a central role in the lives
of all of us, no matter what faith, social,
economic or geographical background we may
come from. The importance of water is referenced
in the holy scriptures of all major religions.
Mahendra Dabhi, President
of the Hindu Council of Birmingham, said:
“Most of us take water for granted yet it
is the very source of life. We all have
a duty to conserve water and to protect
and improve our natural environment.”
“Water is used in almost
every Hindu ritual, auspicious or otherwise.
Its importance is phenomenal to all Hindus
worldwide,” added Mr Dabhi.
John Beard, representing
the Buddhist community, said: “To Buddhists
water symbolises purity, clarity and calmness.
Water helps clean our body and mind.”
From the Sikh community,
Sewa Singh Mandla, Chairman of Birmingham
Council of Faiths, said: “Water is essential
for all living beings and its efficient
use must be encouraged for a better quality
of life. In Sikhism most Gurudwaras have
a pool of water in its vicinity, signifying
its importance. We must protect our environment.”
In Islam, water is a
powerful symbol of the unity of all creation.
Dr Fazlun Khalid, a Muslim, and Founder
Director of Islamic Foundation for Ecology
and Environmental Sciences, or IFEES, said:
“It is a salutatory lesson that when space
probes look for life on other planets they
first look for signs of water – no water
no life. It is the essence that sustains
all life forms not least the human and as
the Qu’ran says, ‘we made from water every
living thing’.”
Elsbeth Mendes da Costa,
representing the Jewish community, said:
“In Genesis we read that water is the very
first element on the newly created earth.
It is crucial for all life in our world
and every day we pray, praising God for
causing the wind to blow and the rain to
fall, the sun to shine and the dew to descend.”
Sharon Pennant, representing
the African Caribbean community, said: “The
importance of water in our community is
paramount. We generally value water and
its benefits. However, we must be aware
of the wider issues of conservation and
efficiency of water use in order to improve
the environment.”
The Environment Agency’s
public consultation aims to look at how
all issues affecting water can be addressed
together to find shared solutions to improve
every aspect of the water environment including
water quality, supply and reducing pollution.
Mark Sitton-Kent, Environment
Agency Regional Director, said: “Water is
hugely significant to people from all different
backgrounds. It’s crucial that our rivers
and lakes are preserved and improved for
future generations.
“Everyone can help us
champion improvements to their local environment
either by taking part in the consultation,
or by talking to us about how we can improve
waterways near their home or work.”
Water quality in the
Midlands has improved considerably over
the last twenty years, with fish and wildlife
returning to some areas which were previously
heavily polluted. This is a great opportunity
to ensure that our water environment reaches
an even higher standard.
We are keen to hear
from everyone about their views on plans
to improve waters across England and Wales.
For more information visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfd
and click on the Severn or Humber plans,
which covers the region. The consultation
ends on 22 June 2009.
+ More
Quarry pollution turns
stream brown
A quarry company has
been fined for polluting more than two kilometres
of a West Yorkshire watercourse.
Marshalls Mono Limited
has permission from the Environment Agency
to discharge effluent from Sovereign Quarry
in Shepley into a tributary of Shepley Dyke.
However, on 13 March
last year a discharge by the company contained
more than 10 times the permitted level of
suspended solids.
The company, of Birkby
Grange, Birkby Hall Road, Birkby, Huddersfield,
today pleaded guilty at Huddersfield Magistrates’
Court to one offence of breaching its discharge
consent.
Magistrates fined Marshalls
£3,000 and ordered it to pay full
prosecution costs of £4,098.09 and
a victim surcharge of £15.
Trevor Cooper, prosecuting
for the Environment Agency, told the magistrates’
the alarm was raised by a member of the
public, who reported that the tributary
was a milky brown colour.
When an environment
officer attended she was unable to see the
bottom of the stream, even though it is
only 30 centimetres deep. She traced the
source of the pollution to contaminated
water from Sovereign Quarry being discharged
from a settlement lagoon.
Samples showed the level
of suspended solids to be 485 milligrams
per litre, compared to the permitted level
of 40 milligrams per litre. The discolouration
of the water was visible for more than 2.2km
downstream.
Mr Cooper told the court
the pollution could potentially have harmed
plants, fish and invertebrates. Suspended
solids in water can stunt aquatic plant
growth and affect oxygen levels, as well
as destroying the habitats of insects and
invertebrates, which are a source of food
for fish and birds. The pollution also can
damage fish spawning sites and injure fish.
The company had admitted
the offence in interview, when it said it
had stopped pumping because the discharge
was “not clean”. However, Marshalls took
no steps to stop the discharge from continuing
to enter the watercourse.
Mr Cooper said Marshalls’
previous record was an aggravating feature
– the company received warning letters from
the Environment Agency about discharges
from Sovereign Quarry in October 2006 and
January 2007, and in October 2003 was fined
after admitting three offences of polluting
groundwater with effluent.
The bench gave Marshalls
credit for pleading guilty at the first
opportunity and its efforts to stop the
discharge as soon as it became aware of
the problem.
In mitigation, the court
heard Marshalls had co-operated with the
Environment Agency during its inquiries
and had paid initial investigation costs
of £385. It had no convictions in
the past four years.
