A new cross-government team has been set up to tackle Whitehaven harbour’s orange water.
The team has been created by Minister for Water and Flooding Emma Hardy after Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister met with senior government officials earlier this week.
It is aiming to create proposals to tackle the contaminated water and its impact on the Bransty tunnel and harbour and secure the necessary funding to deliver a treatment scheme to the area.
The team is being co-ordinated by officials at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and brings together all departments and agencies involved with the situation.
Senior officials from environment, energy and transport departments involved in the situation were present at the meeting, including Network Rail, the Environment Agency and the Mining Remediation Authority.
Mr MacAlister said the aim of the meeting was to address the situation head on after agencies refused to take responsibility for developing and delivering a solution to restore the harbour to its normal state.
Whitehaven’s harbour water has been intermittently turning orange after periods of heavy rainfall since November 2022. Tests have pointed at historic mine workings as the likely cause – but officials have remained unable to pinpoint the actual source of the contaminated water.
Investigations are now looking into finding a way to clean or filter the water running out of the tunnel.
