The council and United Utilities have both responded to a recent study revealing a river in the Ribble Valley has one of the highest number of harmful chemical mixtures in the region.

The Environment Agency data analysed between 2016 and 2022, indicated a worrying scale of ‘chemical cocktail’ pollution that is known to have harmful impacts on wildlife in the River Hodder.

It is believed the toxic chemicals causing the river to have the highest concentration in East Lancashire, are coming from Langden Brook, a stream that joins the River Hodder at Langden Bridge.

Councillor Simon Hore, deputy leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, whose Chipping ward includes Langden Brook, said there were unanswered questions about the ‘harsh chemicals’ found in the brook, one of more than 1,600 sites across England detailed in the report from the Wildlife and Countryside Link and Rivers Trust.

Addressing the problem yesterday (June 27), Cllr Hore said: “This study raises many questions and I am calling for clarity from those who own the brook and are responsible for monitoring it.

“This report is one of several since 2012 analysing water quality in the brook, but it is unclear whether it is suggesting that there has been an incident, or change is needed to improve the water quality. 

“One of the chemicals listed in the study is believed to be a weedkiller commonly used in the UK on croplands, pastures, and riverbanks, but again it is unclear whether concentration allegedly found at the brook are above legal levels.”

The chemical cocktail containing a PFAS substance, known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down in the environment or human bodies, is only one of the five harmful mixtures the council has addressed.

Cllr Hore continued: “Pollution of water courses is an issue across the UK, as the study correctly states, but what we now need is a clear steer on how individual sites can be improved.”

The Langden Brook area which has been flagged as polluted is owned by United Utilities.

However the water supply company also reject any responsibility for the harmful chemicals found in the river.

A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “To confirm, there’s no treatment taking place at our Langden Brook site and we don’t use any chemicals in grounds maintenance so the chemical mixtures found are not related to our operations.”

In sites where at least one chemical cocktail was identified, groundwaters tend to show more of these chemical cocktails, with 96 per cent of the sites containing three or more of the five chemical cocktails.

Of the river and lake sites, 86 per cent showed one or two of the cocktails which may indicate a trickle down effect where the pollution reaches groundwater and is stored before a delayed release that could be months, years, or decades later.

However, the River Hodder is one of the few river sites in the country with five chemical mixtures detected making it more difficult to identify when and where the pollution is coming from.

Joan Edwards, director policy and public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, said: "The government isn’t effectively investigating, monitoring or even regulating these chemicals and this new research highlights the urgent need for tougher controls."