THE water company responsible for sewage in the region has responded after brown water was seen flowing into the river near Darlington.
Residents raised concern after seeing what appeared to be "untreated sewage" being pumped into the River Tees from two fairly new pipes near Broken Scar.
The event, which was captured by Shirley Aiken last Monday (October 25), prompted concern with residents fearing the worst.
Read more: Map reveals raw SEWAGE is being emptied into water at these 11 North East beaches
It comes as a map yesterday revealed as many as eleven North East beaches had seen raw sewage pumped into the sea after a spell of torrential rain at the weekend.
Areas including Redcar, Saltburn, Seaham and Amble were among those where a "pollution" alert was recorded and residents warned.
But confirming that the discharge of water was not in fact sewage on Tuesday, Northumbrian Water offered assurances that there was no cause for concern.
A spokesperson confirmed its Broken Scar treatment works is not a sewage treatment facility and that the pipes had discharged raw river water as part of its "normal" process.
It is understood that the water looks brown in its appearance as that is the colour of water when it has travelled from an upland peak stream.
Last night, the Environment Agency which is investigating the cause of hundreds of dead crabs along the region's beaches, appeared to rule out raw sewage as the cause.
In a statement to The Northern Echo, it said that there had been no significant incidents involving sewage in the lower Tees and coastal areas nor had there been any evidence of sewage spills.
It said: "We continue to work with partners at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture to investigate why thousands of dead crabs have washed up along the shore in the Tees Estuary and neighbouring beaches.
Read more: Authorities provide update after hundreds of dead crabs wash up on North East beaches
“The discharge of raw sewage has been considered, however this is not the main focus of our investigation as no significant incidents involving sewage in the lower tees and coastal areas have been reported to us and there has been no evidence of spills of sewage that could link to the deaths.
“Samples of water, sediment, mussel and crab have been collected and are being analysed by our labs, to consider whether a pollution incident could have contributed to the deaths of the animals. We have also shared samples with Cefas labs for disease analysis."
If you are aware of pollution affecting wildlife, or spot any dead or sick crustaceans on the region’s coastline, you can report it to the Environment Agency on 0800 807060
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