St John's sewage works 'operating within licence limits' despite concerns over discharge

DEFA says there's no evidence of pollution downstream after environmentalist questions 'grey water' levels

Environmentalists are concerned about the impact of discharge from sewage works being released into a tributary of the River Neb.

John Griffiths from Isle of Man Friends of the Earth says 'grey water' from nearby sewage works could be having an impact on the quality of bathing water where the river enters the sea in Peel

Mr Griffiths told Manx Radio he's worried about what's in the water:

In response, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture says the facility is operating within its licence limits.

It says: "We have investigated and found the sewage treatment works at St John's to be operating within its discharge licence limits, with no evidence of pollution downstream of the site.

"We took samples from the discharge point, as well as upstream and downstream.

"MUA have also carried out additional inspections, and identified no issues with the works' operations, with their routine samples also satisfactory.

"The infrastructure at St John's is an older filter bed system which do tend to have more odour issues due to the nature of the treatment process, especially in warm weather."