A TEAM of researchers is closing in on the solution to a pollution problem that has turned a North-East beck red for the past decade.

The experts from Teesside University’s Clean Environment Management Centre (Clemance) has identified a way of pumping and treating minewater to tackle the pollution seeping from old ironstone mine workings at Saltburn Gill, in Saltburn, east Cleveland.

Clemance’s team believes an existing shaft, or a new borehole, can drain away the polluted water instead of letting it rise to the surface in the Saltburn Gill Nature Reserve, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its ancient woodland.

The pollution began in May 1999 when a new discharge from abandoned ironstone mine workings turned the beck a rust colour, raising concerns for the health of the Saltburn Gill beck, which runs into Skelton beck through Valley Gardens Park and onto the beach.

The water is not toxic but contains high levels of dissolved iron. Nearly half a tonne of iron ochre is deposited on the stream bed every day, smothering it to such an extent that wildlife struggles to survive.

The discharge means that more than 100 tonnes of the iron flow into the North Sea every year via the beck.

Drilling a borehole to pump and treat the water is seen as the best option by Clemance after the idea of creating reed beds to filter the water at the discharge point in the steeply wooded valley of Saltburn Gill proved impractical because they would have to be huge to do the job properly.

Dr Richard Lord, Clemance’s reader in environmental geochemistry and sustainability, said: “We were excited when we found an old mine shaft which had not been closed off and we wondered if there could be somewhere to pump the water underground from, rather than letting it come to the surface naturally in the Gill.

“Through the use of CCTV cameras, we have been able to check the shaft’s condition. It was disappointing when we discovered that the shaft was blocked off further down, but the survey gave us critical information about the minewater levels and it did get us thinking about pumping as a way of controlling the pollution “Drilling a borehole nearby to pump the water from the underground workings will allow it to be treated and discharged back into the beck.

That way we could make sure that it does not leak out untreated close to the Saltburn Gill nature reserve.

“We are hopeful that we are nearing a solution to this difficult problem at last.”

The ongoing investigation into the problem has been carried out by organisations including Clemance and the Environment Agency, working with Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and the Saltburn Gill Action Group, which was set up in 2005 to work towards a solution.

The Environment Agency has secured £35,000 to follow up recommendations from the feasibility study this year, which could lead to a longterm solution. The feasibility study was funded by a £16,500 award from the Impetus Trust.