THE Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners have said that they are still 'researching solutions' and looking for 'potential treatments' to bring the colour of the harbour water back to its original state. 

The water began to change to an orange colour in November 2022 and is getting into the marina through a culvert, affecting mainly Queens Dock. 

It is hoped that some changes can be made by 2025, however, this can't be confirmed at this stage, the commissioners said. 

The 'potential treatments' would likely involve filtering the water, treating it, or a combination of both. 

In a post on social media, The Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners wrote: "The 'harbour water task force' is still researching solutions to the orange water problem.

"A recent meeting of the group, chaired by our MP Josh MacAlister, highlighted some credible treatments.

"Each needs more research to prove its long-term effectiveness and answer other concerns. Once we have this, we will also need to secure funding to install and maintain them.

"It's been almost two years since the harbour water turned a murky brown/orange. We are frustrated that there is still no solution in place.

"We will keep working with Josh and other key stakeholders to get this sorted."

The 'task force' includes representatives from key organisations and affected community groups. 

It also includes the agencies involved in testing and investigating the contaminated water.  

Twelve organisations are involved in the operation including Network Rail, Sellafield Ltd, Whitehaven Marina Ltd, and Cumberland Council. 

It is still not fully understood why this is happening, but it is thought that any water running into the harbour may pick up metals due to the complex geology of west Cumbria.

READ MORE: What is known about the colour change in Whitehaven harbour

The Harbour Commissioners said: "We know the contaminated water is coming from Bransty railway tunnel. One possible explanation is that water has been getting in there for a long time.

"Experts believe that the stones used in the railway, called ballast, might have helped filter the contaminated water. But after a while, the ballast got blocked and worn, making it less effective.

"Network Rail has been exploring ways to help fix this by replacing the ballast. Regulators have warned against this. Moving the ballast could disturb even more contaminated water and make things worse."

Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister added: "Since the election I've taken over the role of chairing the task force to address the orange water problem, which has now been going on for two years.

"Progress has been far too slow and I've been holding partners to account to try to crack this issue. Network Rail will shortly carry out some track improvement work in the Bransty tunnel which may help, but we're still working on a long-term solution and how to resource it.

"I will continue to push as hard as I can on the responsible authorities to resolve it and return our beautiful harbour to its rightful state."