THE leader of Cheshire West and Chester has thrown her backing behind a drive to stop companies discharging waste into the River Mersey by 2030.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the the Liverpool City Region (LCR), has announced plans to ensure a discharge-free Mersey by the end of the decade.

The LCR’s original devolution deal, signed with central government in 2015, set out a commitment to make the river discharge free by 2040, but the Metro Mayor has decided to bring that commitment forward by a decade.

To start the campaign, Mayor Rotheram will tell businesses of his intention to ensure the LCR Combined Authority does not invest in projects that do not act to prevent untreated sewage discharging into the rivers.

Councillor Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “The Mersey is an iconic river, central to the history of the North West and the UK.

“The health of the river is inextricably linked to the health of our communities, and so we must find more modern solutions for the management of sewage rather than rely on this archaic method.

“It is essential we do everything we can to protect and manage our rivers and water resources to ensure they enhance the area and benefit our residents and local wildlife and ending untreated waste discharges by the end of the decade is a vital step in the right direction.”

Mayor Rotheram added: “We have made enormous strides since the 1980s when Lord Heseltine rightly described the state of the River Mersey as ‘an affront to the standards a civilised society should demand of its environment.’

“The river today is an environmental success story but, as recent public anger over the discharge of untreated sewage into our rivers and seas shows, we cannot be complacent and must do all that we can to ensure we care for our great river.

“To that end, I want to use the powers enshrined in our devolution deal to eliminate discharges of untreated waste into the River Mersey by the end of the decade.”