Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the water sources within the Colne Valley are now designated as having a poor chemical status because of the deterioration of the Blackford source; and on what date this designation changed.

The Colne (confluence with the Chess to Thames) water body's chemical status deteriorated from Good in 2016, to Fail in 2019. This was due to the incorporation in the testing regime of two priority hazardous substances which were not previously classified. These are Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) which were classified as 'Fail' in 2019, resulting in the water body chemical status change. The chemical status change is not linked to the status of the Blackford Pumping Station.

The 2019 river classification for chemicals reflected a change in the methods used to classify English water bodies to more accurately report the presence of certain chemicals that do not break down easily in the environment. The Environment Agency is working with a range of partners in England to reduce inputs at source and to better understand the impact on the environment from highly persistent chemicals.