The Environment Agency (EA) is taking action to clean up polluted water flowing out of an old lead mine in Cumbria, which is contaminating a river and lake. The agency plans to build a series of ponds to remove heavy metals from Gategill near Keswick.
According to EA senior technical advisor Dr Hugh Potter, the pollution from the Woodend Low Level adit, an old tunnel used by miners to drain the mine, is harming water quality and river wildlife. Metals such as cadmium, zinc, and iron are seeping into the water, affecting a 25km stretch of the watercourse from Gategill Beck to Bassenthwaite Lake.
The levels of zinc in the beck downstream of the mine are exceeding safe limits for river wildlife by up to 2,500 times. To address this issue, the proposed treatment scheme will capture the metals before they enter the beck and then release the improved water back into the watercourse.
The cleanup effort is part of the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines program, a partnership between the EA, the Coal Authority, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The construction of the treatment ponds is expected to take several years.
Public information sessions were held in Threlkeld Village Hall to inform residents about the project. The government has committed to halving the length of rivers polluted by harmful metals from abandoned mines by 2038, emphasizing the importance of protecting our water sources and wildlife.
