River Tawd facts for kids
The River Tawd is a river that flows through the towns of Skelmersdale and Lathom in West Lancashire, England. It's an important part of the local landscape and history.
River Tawd's Journey
Long ago, a bridge called Tawd Bridge carried an important road over the river. This road connected towns like Wigan, Ormskirk, and Southport. People from Upholland know this bridge because a famous highwayman (a robber who stopped people on roads), named George Lyons, used to stop travelers here in the 1700s.
Today, the River Tawd flows through big underground tunnels called culverts in the middle of Skelmersdale. It then comes out near the Concourse shopping centre. From there, it flows into a lovely country park and past a Scout camp. This area used to be a coal mine, or colliery, in the 1800s and early 1900s. Some parts of the river are even special places for nature, called a county biological heritage site.
The River Tawd is a tributary (a smaller river that flows into a larger one) of the River Douglas. It joins the River Douglas in Lathom.
How Healthy is the River Tawd?
The Environment Agency checks the health of rivers in England, including the River Tawd. They give each river a score to show how good its water quality is. The scores can be: high, good, moderate, poor, or bad.
To figure out the score, they look at different things:
- Biological health: This means checking the types and numbers of living things in the water. They look at tiny creatures called invertebrates (like insects and worms), water plants, and fish.
- Chemical health: This involves testing the water for different chemicals. They make sure the levels of these chemicals are safe.
In 2016, the River Tawd's water quality was rated as moderate. This means it was okay, but not perfect. Some reasons why the water quality wasn't "good" included changes made to the river's shape and some wastewater flowing into it.
Rivers Joining the Tawd
The River Tawd has smaller streams that flow into it. These are its tributaries:
- Slate Brook
- Grimshaw Brook
