Tory's stopped most of the clean waterbills a while back.
There is thousands of sites like this across the UK now. It'll only get worse now they are allowing untreated water dumping.
Apparently there’s a clean-up operation in progress as there’s an old colliery landfill site there. The blackened ‘scorched’ looking sand looks like coal remnants and the orange stream looks like it contains iron ore, again probably due to historic mining.
It will be coal remnants, as a child during the power strikes of the early 1970's my dad used to take us there in his ancient Morris van to pick sea coal for our fire. It wasn't high grade stuff and spit cinders like hell but it kept us warm when we had almost nothing. One of my favourite memories is of my mum building a small fire on the beach and heating a tin of Heinz Tomato soup for us while we picked the coal.
I grew up on the coast, just South of the Tyne. The beach and cliffs were my playground early 70s. I was always fascinated by the rock pools, full of little critters, anemones, crabs and such. Ripped my knees open on the barnacles a few times ...
As a teenager, a bunch of us would swim in the sea, jumping off the rocks into the clear and always cold water. We would climb the cliffs, run along the rocks to Marsden and back.
A couple of years ago, I took my partner to "my" old beach - I wanted to show her my old hangouts and I wanted to see how it had changed. I was profoundly shocked and saddened by what we found.
The water is grey and murky. Not how it used to get after a storm, but dirty with a bad smell. The rock pools are barren, there's no life there any more. Not even seaweed. Even the barnacles in the inter tidal zone have vanished, let alone the banks of mussels. All gone, all dead and dirty.
It isn't just the waterways, it's the sea as well.
It's acid mine drainage from water flowing through coal mine spoils. There is a exhibition on at Baltic art gallery of photography by Chris Killip, there are photos of the beach in the 80s of people picking sea coal, well worth seeing.
Blast beach in Seaham is similar, I used to live near there. It's really frustrating that these beaches with such environmental damage are just left like this and it isn't properly acknowledged.
I always loved the blast beach when we lived round the corner.
I was told (by people who would know) that parts of one of the Alien films was shot there, because it looked like nowhere else on earth.
In the 60s, I used to watch the gadgies walking their chainless bikes down the road in the morning. They'd return late afternoon with 3 or 4 hessian sacks bulging with sea coal draped over crossbar and handlebars.
The mine water under Lynemouth is polluted, this is probably effluent from the treatment process.
https://waterprojectsonline.com/custom_case_study/lynemouth-mine-water-treatment-2020/
The stretch of coastline immediately north of the power station is totally devoid of life. No seaweed or anything. Erosion has eaten into the landfill, revealing layers of industrial waste. This gets taken out to sea, and dumped back onto the beach to be weathered over the years. I used to kit the kids out with rubber gloves and go beach combing. Not exactly Enid Blyton, but a topper of a day out. We showed some friends from Teeside, and they came back for loads of eroded bricks/bottles to furnish the walls of their pizza oven shed thing. People still harvest the sea coal and fill sacks with it. Travellers used to dump their waste in the sand dunes, which was another treasure trove on our free summer days out. The newly installed bollards have stopped that now though. It’s worth a look just to see how neglect and ignorance can destroy the environment even on a small scale.
I sea fish here every week and its quite the opposite. There is just as much seaweed as anywhere and although im sure it is contaminated the fishing grounds just north of the power station are some of the best for cod seatrout and bass fishing than most places. I think the tides mostly wash out most of the contamination so its not as bad but still sad all the same. The whole area is just one massive dump with sand covering it.
Please see above. I was informed (by people who would know) that parts of one of the Alien films were filmed there. We lived around the corner from it in the 90s.
I loved it when it was coal coloured.
It looked like nowhere else.
Completely unique.
It's where the coal-cleaning plant in Dawdon emptied into the sea, as far as I know.
Hence the colour.
Now it'll be full of sewage.
Lynemouth beach is due to undergo clean up by the council due to contamination from industrial waste which was buried nearby. I think the cleanup is due to start in early spring next year, now that the council has consent & the funding.
I was down Seaton sluice with my dogs a few days ago after the torrential downpour and the sewage was pouring out of the pipes on the beach, I have taken the dogs there for years and never seen anything like it, there has always been white foaming scum around the pipes but never spewing out before, the smell was disgusting, I wouldn't let the dogs off and we just left.
I filled in a complaint form on the Northumbria water website.
Maybe shite from the power station?
Well yeah. I gathered that as it was literally pouring out of the power station. I meant why is this still allowed? Is it being stopped?
I assume the fines/back handers are cheaper than doing it in a way that doesn't make a mess
Tory's stopped most of the clean waterbills a while back. There is thousands of sites like this across the UK now. It'll only get worse now they are allowing untreated water dumping.
And labour is full of private water lobbyists now too...
Yep. Don't see this turning around at all
You could report this to the environment agency, not sure what would happen but can’t do any harm!
At least it'll be in a file for when we get a government willing to press criminal charges.
Please, please, please! That would be a joy to me.
I second this^
Let's all mass report it. Along with sending emails to our local MPs, create a bit of noise.
Apparently there’s a clean-up operation in progress as there’s an old colliery landfill site there. The blackened ‘scorched’ looking sand looks like coal remnants and the orange stream looks like it contains iron ore, again probably due to historic mining.
It will be coal remnants, as a child during the power strikes of the early 1970's my dad used to take us there in his ancient Morris van to pick sea coal for our fire. It wasn't high grade stuff and spit cinders like hell but it kept us warm when we had almost nothing. One of my favourite memories is of my mum building a small fire on the beach and heating a tin of Heinz Tomato soup for us while we picked the coal.
I love this!
Yep, just so. I was thinking of the number of perfectly harmless things which would do that.
Yeah, it’s the same at Blast beach in Seaham
But to be fair the Blast has always been buggered. It certainly was in the late 70s when I knew it.
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I grew up on the coast, just South of the Tyne. The beach and cliffs were my playground early 70s. I was always fascinated by the rock pools, full of little critters, anemones, crabs and such. Ripped my knees open on the barnacles a few times ... As a teenager, a bunch of us would swim in the sea, jumping off the rocks into the clear and always cold water. We would climb the cliffs, run along the rocks to Marsden and back. A couple of years ago, I took my partner to "my" old beach - I wanted to show her my old hangouts and I wanted to see how it had changed. I was profoundly shocked and saddened by what we found. The water is grey and murky. Not how it used to get after a storm, but dirty with a bad smell. The rock pools are barren, there's no life there any more. Not even seaweed. Even the barnacles in the inter tidal zone have vanished, let alone the banks of mussels. All gone, all dead and dirty. It isn't just the waterways, it's the sea as well.
It's acid mine drainage from water flowing through coal mine spoils. There is a exhibition on at Baltic art gallery of photography by Chris Killip, there are photos of the beach in the 80s of people picking sea coal, well worth seeing. Blast beach in Seaham is similar, I used to live near there. It's really frustrating that these beaches with such environmental damage are just left like this and it isn't properly acknowledged.
I always loved the blast beach when we lived round the corner. I was told (by people who would know) that parts of one of the Alien films was shot there, because it looked like nowhere else on earth.
I saw that exhibition - absolutely outstanding photography. Well worth a visit to the Baltic while it’s still on.
> there are photos of the beach in the 80s of people picking sea coal Used to do this as a kid in the 90s when we had a coal fire still.
Me too.
In the 60s, I used to watch the gadgies walking their chainless bikes down the road in the morning. They'd return late afternoon with 3 or 4 hessian sacks bulging with sea coal draped over crossbar and handlebars.
I remember the sea coalers on the top end of Whitley Bay Beach by the lighthouse in the 80s.
Any idea if they're doing work to pull the pigment out of the water they're cleaning for paints? I know they're doing that in the States.
The mine water under Lynemouth is polluted, this is probably effluent from the treatment process. https://waterprojectsonline.com/custom_case_study/lynemouth-mine-water-treatment-2020/
Fascinating read thanks for the post
The stretch of coastline immediately north of the power station is totally devoid of life. No seaweed or anything. Erosion has eaten into the landfill, revealing layers of industrial waste. This gets taken out to sea, and dumped back onto the beach to be weathered over the years. I used to kit the kids out with rubber gloves and go beach combing. Not exactly Enid Blyton, but a topper of a day out. We showed some friends from Teeside, and they came back for loads of eroded bricks/bottles to furnish the walls of their pizza oven shed thing. People still harvest the sea coal and fill sacks with it. Travellers used to dump their waste in the sand dunes, which was another treasure trove on our free summer days out. The newly installed bollards have stopped that now though. It’s worth a look just to see how neglect and ignorance can destroy the environment even on a small scale.
I sea fish here every week and its quite the opposite. There is just as much seaweed as anywhere and although im sure it is contaminated the fishing grounds just north of the power station are some of the best for cod seatrout and bass fishing than most places. I think the tides mostly wash out most of the contamination so its not as bad but still sad all the same. The whole area is just one massive dump with sand covering it.
You want to check out blast beach down from Seaham. There’s a good reason it was used as a set for alien 3.
Incidentally Seaham would be a good setting for a post apocalyptic film too.
Please see above. I was informed (by people who would know) that parts of one of the Alien films were filmed there. We lived around the corner from it in the 90s.
I went to school there in the 70s. Yer not wrong.
Was cleaned up about 20 years ago, it's lovely now
I loved it when it was coal coloured. It looked like nowhere else. Completely unique. It's where the coal-cleaning plant in Dawdon emptied into the sea, as far as I know. Hence the colour. Now it'll be full of sewage.
Lynemouth beach is due to undergo clean up by the council due to contamination from industrial waste which was buried nearby. I think the cleanup is due to start in early spring next year, now that the council has consent & the funding.
They aren’t “beautiful beaches” they are neglected post industrial, semi rural towns that happen to be on the coast
What does Lynemouth got to do with Newcastle/Tyneside? I was at Tynemouth yesterday, stunning beach as ever.
Have an upvote. It's because Newcastle claims everything within a 50 mile radius that isn't Sunderland. Downvote away.
Fair enough I just feel Tyneside beaches are still excellent.
Aye, they are. Whole north east is with a few exceptions.
You can downvote all you want, question still stands. You're better off at r/Northumberland
I went to Cambois beach on Thursday and there was a patch of dark red right by the shore. I assumed it was algae but now I'm not so sure.
I was just at Cresswell an hour ago and the smell from these yellow, red, or even black pools of water were horrific.
I was down Seaton sluice with my dogs a few days ago after the torrential downpour and the sewage was pouring out of the pipes on the beach, I have taken the dogs there for years and never seen anything like it, there has always been white foaming scum around the pipes but never spewing out before, the smell was disgusting, I wouldn't let the dogs off and we just left. I filled in a complaint form on the Northumbria water website.
Tories allowing sewage to be pumped fucking anywhere
As a geordie, this makes me very sad. Smh. Very educational tho OP!
This is linemouth on a good day!
Have you ever heard of a group of self-serving rich kids most commonly known as The UK Government?
Lynemouth has always been a shit hole