HL Deb 08 July 1985 vol 466 cc1-3
Viscount Mersey

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Mersey is still the dirtiest river in the country, and whether they have any plans to clean it up.

Lord Skelmersdale

Yes, my Lords. The Mersey is the most polluted river system and estuary in the United Kingdom; it is a disgrace. That is why a Government-led campaign is now under way to tackle this problem, and also to improve the appearance and use of land alongside all the watercourses of the Mersey basin. The North West Water Authority and the local authorities are bringing forward priority projects as part of the campaign.

Viscount Mersey

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. Is it not the case that only after a considerable clean-up will it be possible to build a Mersey barrage? Might not that barrage be highly desirable since is it not the case that it would yield more electric power than would even the Severn barrage? Therefore, is not the clean-up of the river particularly urgent, because by so doing the Government would generate not only sweetness but also light?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, irrespective of my noble friend's point about sweetness and light, the answer to his question as to whether a barrage may, realistically speaking, be built only when a river has been cleaned up is, no. Each location is different and its characteristics have to be carefully studied. So far as a possible Mersey barrage is concerned, a probability study has been done and that identified only marginal benefits. For example, the proposed barrage would generate less than one-twelfth of the power generated by the proposed Severn barrage. However, should a follow-up technical study be done, the Department of Energy has offered 20 per cent. of its cost.

Baroness Nicol

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the greatest polluter of the Mersey is not Manchester or Liverpool, but Ellesmere Port?

Lord Skelmersdale

No, my Lords. I regret to say that in percentage terms it is people.

Lord Leatherland

My Lords, did the Minister mention that the Mersey was very badly polluted? Did he also indicate to us in regard to a parenthetical question that some local authorities were obtaining their drinking water from that river?

Lord Skelmersdale

No, my Lords, I did not mention drinking water.

Lord Nugent of Guildford

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that "the quality of Mersey" is not strained?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, I am sorry. I am afraid I missed both the words and the purport of my noble friend's question.

The Earl of Liverpool

My Lords, is my noble friend on the Front Bench aware that I have almost as close an interest in this matter as does my noble friend Lord Mersey? Can he say, therefore, whether the projects in train will lead to a wider environmental clean-up of the area? Can he also tell the House whether there is to be a contribution from the EC and, if so, at what level?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, throughout the Mersey basin the construction of sewers and treatment works will be undertaken almost entirely by private contractors. That is expected to employ a workforce of some 3,500 people at any one time, building up to about 500 long-term extra operational jobs. The Government also expect jobs to be created both directly and indirectly as a result of development and improvements on land alongside the watercourses. In the first three years some £133 million is scheduled to be spent on this. Roughly half of it will come, as a result of an application, from the European Regional Development Fund.

Viscount Mersey

My Lords, I must say that I am a little surprised to hear that the Mersey would generate less power than the Severn. That certainly was not my information. Finally, may I ask my noble friend whether he has a figure in megawattage for the amount of power we might get from the Mersey barrage?

Lord Skelmersdale

Regretfully not, my Lords.

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