POLLUTED water continues to be discharged into Whitehaven Harbour almost a year since the issue first came to light.

Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners’ chief executive remains ‘frustrated’ by the situation and says they have no control over what is discharged through the culvert into Queens Dock.

The discoloured water, which began entering the harbour at the end of last year, has become worse following periods of heavy rainfall.

Investigations into the cause are still ongoing. Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners continue to liaise with Cumberland Council, Network Rail, The Coal Authority and The Environment Agency, to resolve the issue.

Deanne Shallcross, chief executive of Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, said: “Unfortunately we do have days when the colour gets worse. It's often after periods of heavy rainfall and therefore increased run-off.

“Ourselves and Whitehaven Marina Limited remain in liaison with those agencies who have the power to stop this constant discharge of polluted water into Whitehaven Harbour.

“Just last week we had a meeting with Cumberland Council to reiterate the dire situation. We were reassured by their responses and are working with them to bring all the agencies together, yet again, to ensure remedial action is finally taken.

“It is completely unacceptable that we're almost at a year since the issue first came to light.

“I remain frustrated that neither WHC nor WML can control what is discharged through the culvert into Queen's Dock. This is impacting negatively on our businesses, the wider harbour estate and the community as a whole, not just financial but also reputational damage. It needs to be stopped.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Sampling and non-intrusive investigations are underway to find the source of the discolouration. Once these have been completed and analysed, we will share the results with all relevant parties to plan and implement next steps."