22 July 2009
Twenty-five years ago people used to say that if you fell into the River Mersey you'd probably die of poisoning before you had time to drown.
But in a new five-part BBC TV series presented by Griff Rhys-Jones we can see that a quarter of a century on things have changed considerably for the better.
The second episode of 'Rivers' - which will be aired on Sunday, August 2 - follows Griff's valiant attempt to swim across the Mersey in a test of the river's cleanliness.
Guiding him on the swim is Dave Sandman - a field service engineer for United Utilities.
Dave, aged 52 from Childwall, works at Sandon Dock wastewater treatment works and is a member of the open water section of Liverpool Swimming Club.
He said: "I swim regularly in the Mersey but wouldn't have dreamed of doing so 25 years ago.
"I was speaking to Griff Rhys-Jones about my memories of the river as a boy - a time when you'd need injections if you were unfortunate enough to fall into the water.
"Back then it was regarded as the most polluted river estuary in Europe, but in 25 years its clean-up has been more successful than most people would ever have imagined.
"During my career at United Utilities I've seen the clean-up of the river first-hand and sometimes I can't believe how much progress has been made.
"Following the company's massive investment to improve the Mersey's water quality, the Mersey Basin Campaign and the Environment Agency have worked alongside us to make these changes possible."
Since Sandon Dock came into operation in 1989 the treatment works has played a significant role in aiding the clean-up of the River Mersey.
Dave said: "When you consider that we have 350 megalitres of sewage a day flowing through the treatment works, it is essential that it continues to operate efficiently in order to ensure the Mersey stays clean.
"The grit we remove amounts to 150 tonnes per month and we pump 30,000 tonnes of sludge per month to our Shell Green site in Widnes for treatment.
"Without these operations in place all this waste would enter into the Mersey and we'd be back where we started."
During filming for the 'Rivers' programme Dave couldn't help but be impressed with the Welsh comedian's enthusiasm to take the plunge into the Mersey himself.
He said: "It's not easy to swim across as it's the second fastest river in the country and it takes a lot of planning as the tide comes in at a fair rate.
"It was cold and windy the day we filmed but Griff turned out to be a strong swimmer and we had plenty of support on standby.
"Safety always comes first when attempting this sort of thing and of course the necessary measures were taken to ensure everything was under control."
In 1999 the Mersey won the inaugural World Riverprize for the 'Best River Clean-Up Anywhere in the World' and is now cleaner than at any time since the Industrial Revolution.
The river is now also home to an assortment of wildlife from salmon and sea trout to sand martins and peregrine falcons - visible proof that it is on the mend and a burgeoning habitat for many years to come.
Walter Menzies, chief executive of the Mersey Basin Campaign, said: "We believe the clean up of the River Mersey is one of the great British successes of the last 25 years and has shown the world what partnership working can achieve.
"Countless people and organisations have played their part, including local communities, volunteers, the Environment Agency and the water company United Utilities."
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