Making the Most of the Mersey Estuary: A Partnership Approach to Catchment Management

Abstract

The Mersey Estuary was, until very recently, the most polluted river estuary in Western Europe but is now the most improved. The North West of England was at the heart of Britain's Industrial Revolution and water quality has suffered from over 150 years of industrial pollution and untreated sewage discharges from a growing population. Over the last 40 years changes in industrial activity in the region have resulted in widespread waterside urban and industrial dereliction and the cessation of port activities at Manchester, with towns on both sides of the Mersey Estuary suffering population decline. The Mersey Basin Campaign was set up in 1985 by the UK Government to address these issues and works in partnership with Government agencies, statutory bodies, local authorities, businesses, local communities and the voluntary sector to solve many of these problems, with resounding success. One of the mechanisms for change brought about by the Campaign was the formulation of a management plan for the Mersey Estuary, which was researched by Liverpool University and formally launched in 1996. The Mersey Strategy is a local partnership of bodies based around and interested in the Mersey Estuary itself and is responsible for overseeing the delivery of this plan. Significant investment by North West Water Ltd, and new legislation regulating industrial discharges have resulted in the water quality across the whole of the catchment improving and in major changes to the pollution load of the Mersey Estuary, which now supports over 50 species of fish. The estuary is internationally important for birdlife and wildlife habitats are improving, with an increase of sightings of marine mammals and other wildlife. Attractive waterside development is bringing new types of business into the region, and people who live and work in the area are beginning to use and appreciate the water and waterside environments for leisure and recreation. In 1999 the Campaign partnership won the inaugural Theiss River Prize for river catchment management awarded by the Australian River Symposium. Much has been achieved, however much remains to be done, particularly to address the difficult problems of diffuse pollution across the catchment.