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Northumbrian Water · overflow NWL00260

No active event

River Gaunless

Northumbrian Water reports no current spill. In the last 30 days the overflow has discharged a cumulative 3.6 h across 3 events.

📍 54.65546°, -1.66905°

Recent spill events· last 30 days

Nearby water quality· 6 sampling points within 5 km

  • NE-44200045 · FRESHWATER - RIVERS

    GAUNLESS AT SOUTH CHURCH

    783 m away

    No swimmer-relevant measurements available.

  • NE-44100016 · FRESHWATER - RIVERS

    WEAR AT WEST MILLS DAM

    1.7 km away

    No swimmer-relevant measurements available.

  • NE-44300075 · FRESHWATER - RIVERS

    GAUNLESS UPSTREAM OF RIVER WEAR

    1.7 km away

    No swimmer-relevant measurements available.

  • NE-44100425 · FRESHWATER - LAKES/PONDS/RESERVOIRS

    WADSWORTH ANGLING AND CONSERVATION CENTRE, POND C. 80M SW OF MAIN BUILDING

    3.9 km away

    No swimmer-relevant measurements available.

  • NE-44200015 · FRESHWATER - RIVERS

    GAUNLESS AT WEST AUCKLAND

    3.9 km away

    No swimmer-relevant measurements available.

  • NE-44200088 · FRESHWATER - RIVERS

    HUMMER BECK AT HUMMERBECK BRIDGE

    4.4 km away

    No swimmer-relevant measurements available.

Take action

The record above is verifiable from public Environment Agency and water-company data. Three official accountability channels — pre-filled with the evidence on this page.

Are you here right now?

If you can see foam, sewage debris, dead fish, or smell something wrong — submit a citizen report. Confirmed reports are added to the Truth Engine and strengthen the public record on this overflow.

📷 Report what you saw →

1. Complain to Northumbrian Water

The official complaints route. Most companies require submission through their web form rather than email — open the form, then paste the pre-filled letter.

Preview the letter
Subject: Complaint: storm overflow NWL00260 on the River Gaunless

Dear Northumbrian Water,

I am writing to formally raise a concern about storm overflow NWL00260,
which public Environment Agency data shows recording 3 spill events totalling 3.6 h in the last 30 days into the River Gaunless.

Evidence:
- Last 30 days: 3 spill events totalling 3.6 h
- Location: 54.65546, -1.66905
- Source: Environment Agency National Storm Overflow Hub, OGL v3, cross-referenced via River Truth (https://rivertruth.uk/overflow/10081)

[Add your personal context here — e.g. how you use this stretch of water and how this incident affects you.]

Please respond with:
1. The cause of this discharge or monitor outage
2. The action being taken to resolve it
3. The expected timeline for resolution
4. What measures are in place to prevent recurrence

I have copied the Environment Agency, Ofwat, and my MP into this correspondence
where appropriate.

Yours faithfully,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Your customer reference if you are a Northumbrian Water customer]

2. Write to the MP for this stretch

This overflow sits in the Bishop Auckland constituency — currently represented by Sam Rushworth (Labour). Click below to open WriteToThem with the letter copied to your clipboard — paste it into the message box.

Or write to your own MP instead

Prefer to write to the MP for where you live? Enter your postcode and we'll redirect WriteToThem accordingly.

Preview the letter
Subject: Constituent concern: Northumbrian Water sewage discharge — overflow NWL00260

Dear [your MP — WriteToThem will fill this in],

I am writing as your constituent to raise concern about ongoing sewage discharges
from Northumbrian Water in our area.

A specific recent example is storm overflow NWL00260, which public
Environment Agency data shows recording 3 spill events totalling 3.6 h in the last 30 days into the River Gaunless.

Evidence on the public record:
- Last 30 days: 3 spill events totalling 3.6 h
- Location: 54.65546, -1.66905
- Source: Environment Agency National Storm Overflow Hub, OGL v3, cross-referenced via River Truth (https://rivertruth.uk/overflow/10081)

[Add your personal context here — e.g. how you use this stretch of water and how this incident affects you and your family.]

I would like to ask:
1. Whether you support strengthening the regulatory regime for storm overflows
   and monitor coverage in particular
2. Whether you would raise this specific incident with the Secretary of State
   for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or with Ofwat
3. What steps Parliament is taking to hold Northumbrian Water accountable for
   the gap between shareholder distributions and the state of monitoring on
   the ground

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address — WriteToThem requires a postal address to verify constituency]

Sources: Environment Agency National Storm Overflow Hub · Environment Agency
WIMS Water Quality Archive · cross-referenced via River Truth (https://rivertruth.uk/overflow/10081)

MP details are looked up live from the UK Parliament Members API under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. River Truth makes no claim about this MP's voting or advocacy record on water issues — they are shown solely as the elected representative for this constituency.

3. Report to the Environment Agency

For active pollution incidents — dead fish, foam, sewage on the riverbank — the EA hotline operates 24/7 and triggers a recorded investigation.

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