Crap Towns / Atherton / Pollution incidents
How often does Atherton get polluted?
4 serious pollution incidents have been recorded in Atherton or within 1 km of it since 2016, the joint 281st most of the 948 English towns that have had one. 1 was major, the worst kind. The most recent came in June 2025 and put building rubble in the water and on the land.
| When | What | Where | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2025 | Building rubble | In the water and on the land | Significant |
| September 2019 | Commercial waste and contaminated building rubble | On the land | Significant |
| April 2018 | Solid manure | In the water | Major |
| February 2016 | Minewater | In the water | Significant |
| Town | Distance | Serious incidents since 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Leigh | 4.2 km | 10 |
| Atherton | – | 4 |
| Kearsley | 7.6 km | 4 |
| Westhoughton | 3.0 km | 4 |
| Hindley | 5.8 km | 3 |