Urgent action needed on River Moselle pollution

Urgent steps are needed to tackle pollution in the River Moselle, according to a Haringey Lib Dem councillor. Known as 'Haringey's River', the Moselle rises in Highgate Wood and flows east through the borough (mostly in pipes underground) but surfaces in Tottenham's Lordship Recreation Ground before eventually flowing into the River Lea in South Tottenham.

Local wildlife living on the overground stretches of the Moselle is threatened by poor water quality due to some premises piping their waste into groundwater drains rather than the sewage system. Until recently, the worst offender was a local primary school. That problem has now been fixed but many homes in the area could still have faulty sewage connections adding to the environmental problem.

Cllr Justin Hinchcliffe (Lib Dem, Fortis Green) observed:

"The council and its partners need to take urgent steps to tackle these dirty leaks and save our waterfowl. I welcome the work that has already been carried out but it's clear more needs to be done.

“Haringey must face this challenge. If we want our wildlife to thrive, urgent action is needed."

Cllr Hinchcliffe asked a series of questions at Full Council late last year in a bid to get the state of the River Moselle flowing further up the political agenda.

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