The WHC team were disappointed that the June meeting of the Whitehaven Harbour Water "task force" had to be cancelled due to the period of sensitivity involving all Government-led agencies in the run-up to the General Election.
The first meeting had been chaired by then Copeland MP Trudy Harrison and involved key agencies, authorities and regulators, from local to national, in an attempt to address the ongoing problem, with all parties keen to work together for the benefit of Whitehaven Harbour and the wider community.
Possible treatments and/or diversion options have been researched but any action to tackle the ongoing issue will have to be licensed and of course funded.
Before it can even get to that, it requires a significant amount of data to be provided to the regulators over a sustained period of time, monitoring the likes of flow and composition.
This data is being collected regularly and we anticipate an update from the agencies as soon as possible after the General Election.
In the meantime, we at WHC are meeting weekly with team members from Whitehaven Marina Limited as well as supporters, experts and advisors from non-Govt led organisations, to share knowledge, continue to explore options and ensure the momentum isn't lost.
As soon as the election is over we will be contacting our area's new MP, environmental ministers and others with a desperate plea to step up and help our community in bringing an end to the water issue, and restore our much-loved harbour to its Georgian glory, once and for all.
We thank everyone, particularly the residents and traders of Whitehaven, for their support and understanding of the challenges and frustrations we face as a result of the ongoing discharge of contaminated water into Queen's Dock and the lack of any solution being agreed to date.