We demand that Severn Trent abandon their plan to build a 4 mile pipe to carry 100% of the sewage effluent from the town of Bishop's Castle in south Shropshire and to dump it in the river Onny.

We also call on the Environment Agency, Shropshire Council and Natural England to withhold their approval of the pipe to ensure that it can never be built.

The river Onny is a small stream running through the south Shropshire countryside. It is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including otter, kingfisher and dipper. It contains a strong population of brown trout, grayling and chub, as well as being an important nursery for Atlantic salmon.

Currently the effluent is discharged into the river Kemp, a tributary of the river Clun. Existing regulations require that any increase in pollution in the river Clun , such as from housing development, has to be offset by a reduction in pollution elsewhere in the same catchment.

By planning to divert the sewage effluent to the river Onny, which is in a separate catchment, Severn Trent are blatantly ignoring the regulations that they are required to comply with.

Allowing this pipe would set a very dangerous precedent for the whole country. Any time a Water Authority faced regulatory restrictions it didn't like in one river, it could simply circumvent the problem by building a pipe to carry sewage effluent to another river in another catchment. 

This issue was covered by the BBC in their news reports on 04DEC24  

Severn Trent should focus their efforts on reducing pollution in the river Clun, such as by upgrading their Waste Water Treatment Works in Bishop's Castle.

Polluting another river is not the answer 

Please sign the petition and Save the Onny, Stop the Pipe, and prevent this happening elsewhere !!! 

This petition has been presented on behalf of the Onny Preservation Group, an informal body comprising of environmentalists, anglers and land owners with a shared love of the Onny and its environs.