Clean Mersey

11/04/2026

Pleased to be part of the multi-community group volunteer collaboration including local WBC Councillor Davis tackling the shocking amount of litter in the River Birket wildlife corridor this morning, and much discussion ensued about the Reeds Lane ponds. Keen to learn more .
Thanks New Brighteners Steve Taylor for coordinating us and keeping it fun. And Pete Cummings for flagging a particularly bad hotspot.

16/02/2026

We made the Globe! 🥳 Big thanks to all who supported the campaign and got us this far.
See link in bio for a final form that we need to complete - it honestly only takes 2 mins ticking boxes to tell Defra if you think the beach should be a designated bathing water..
Thanks to all who we have worked with the last 4 years and who have supported our efforts.

















And many more. Xx

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to see a Wirral beach given special status said they are “thrilled to bits” following a government announcement. While…

15/02/2026

Such exciting news. Designation is just one step away and all of you can help.

we genuinely think all the quotes from you guys swung it to get us this far so big thanks to all that filled in our form...and now the final step...
SAS have kindly done the hard work for us - here is the link to the final one minute form.. If you support obtaining designated bathing water status (and associated Environment Agency water quality monitoring) for New Brighton beach (East) please fill it in and share. . Last step folks - be as enthusiastic as you like. ✌🏻🙏🏻 🤩

News Latest news and updates Thirteen new bathing waters on the horizon for England The government have a public consultation on 13 new bathing waters in England. That's 13 more locations getting tested weekly during the bathing season, with greater transparency, accountability and

18/01/2026

21/11/2025

Less blockages in the drains = less spills into the Mersey and it's tributaries. Whoopee! 🥳 Shame we have to wait until 2027 though.

We are happy to share the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced new legislation banning the sale of wet wipes containing plastic from Spring 2027. 👏 This news is a significant step forward in reducing microplastics entering the environment. However, we still want to remind customers that flushing any wet wipes, even those that don't contain plastic, can cause blockages in pipes and drains which can lead to sewage flooding in homes, local communities and the environment. 😨 Please remember to only flush the 3Ps- P*e, Poo and (toilet) Paper. 👍

18/11/2025

What the heck? Monitoring this.

01/11/2025

Thanks to Rose Leckey for this great photo of busy New Brighton beach on 13 July 2025 at 13:20hrs. Lots of people taking to the water on a hot day.

23/10/2025

You may be able to help get water quality at New Brighton monitored. We are after photos showing people swimming (ideally in numbers) off New Brighton Beach between 15/05/2025 and 30/09/2025 (between Fort Groyne and Pirate Ship Groyne) ?
Photos need to include a recognisable landmark like the red cranes, Fort Perch or Floral Pavilion and bathers in the water. And we need the date and time you took the photo.
If we get an application submitted before 31/10/25 the process will be more straight forward - after that and we will have more hoops to jump through. We will redact your faces if you are recognisable - so the photo will be anonymised.
Please post your photos below or in our Facebook group here [https://www.facebook.com/groups/2416559842067513](https://www.facebook.com/groups/2416559842067513/?__cft__[0=AZXPTdrv0T0DUQI1K7096HpXT_nUYllv3jPD7U4u8EbMDRVjDFweafupfMCXydLK1_QA3k0eMDttmoNSoVXhSeX9FcOFVJQtucpozaZM9oEvaAy8LdmAZ0AI8idAlCOT74S6QEBUE1GtIApCS0Y_Ua1p&__tn__=-UK-R]) and comment how many bathers, date and time or email them to [email protected] with date and time taken or if you have them saved in a folder, send me a link via email so I can see dates they were taken on the photo history. Did I mention the date and time? 🥰😅 Photo credit to Jan Peddie of the Brighteners - thanks Jan!

17/10/2025

Phew!! A decision this week to continue the protection of national parks.

Westminster government published its list of amendments for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and there are no proposals to weaken protections for National Parks.

25/09/2025

Clean Mersey are water testing / active on the River Fender, as part of the River Birket catchment. This press article has just been released today. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/grim-video-shows-toilet-paper-32537348.amp

The most primary form of waste water treatment is to screen for large plastics and wet wipes. sorry UU but this is a big fail - why wait until now to fix this? Crack on!

If readers can't see the article (we recommend you do), basically Upton Storm Tanks are a not fit for purpose. They are due for an upgrade in 2026. It really can't come soon enough. Not only are we seeing many hours of spills of untreated wastewater from the tanks themselves but the next in line asset, which is a manhole, is intermittently explosive and the unscreened outpourings are flowing across a field into the River Fender. Wildlife depends on our streams and rivers. Thanks and helping to raise awareness of this shocking situation.

It's believed the issue might have been happening for years

21/09/2025

What happens to used engine oil after it's shoved down a road drain? The pipe takes it to the river (the Birket in this case) and birds get coated in it. It doesn't come off. We saw coots, ducks and moorhens right next to it. No fish can break the surface without getting coated. It doesn't come off without soap (which the ducks and fish don't have)! It spreads over the surface a mile downstream. Please tell any home mechanics you know to dispose of it at the tip. Spread the word! We have asked the to come out to tackle the thick black slick of viscous oil still left coating a big patch of reeds.