PRESSURE group HACAN ClearSkies has claimed that the publication of BAA's Water Strategy last week, is the first time the Heathrow based company has admitted the extent of the problems it has faced.

BAA, they claim, admits it has not cleaned up all the rivers and holding ponds that have been polluted by run-off water from Heathrow airport. The strategy reveals that BAA has particular problems in dealing with groundwater.

HACAN ClearSkies ecology specialist Mike Riley said, "While we are pleased that BAA has at long last produced a strategy to deal with the water pollution it causes, we remain concerned that it has taken years for the company to admit the seriousness of the problem it faced.

"For over four years we have been called scaremongers and worse for pointing out the problems BAA now admits were there all the time! This must rank as one of the longest guilty pleas in history."

Mike Riley added: "After years of almost complete denial that the airport was a major source of water pollution, BAA has recognised the real problems that we have been highlighting and investigating over the last four years."

He concluded: "We will continue with our own investigations into river silt and monitor BAA's progress in cleaning up the area around Heathrow. We will also press BAA to look at the areas further away from the airport. There is evidence to suggest that they are being polluted by run-off water from the airport."

Claire Williams, head of environment at BAA Heathrow said: "We take the management of water quality at Heathrow very seriously, and by publishing this strategy we can ensure that our stakeholders are kept informed and able to monitor our progress. We will be working closely with the Environment Agency and Thames Water to make sure our action plan minimises water quality impacts around the airport."

A spokeswoman for BAA Heathrow added: "We are disappointed HACAN are still guilty of scare-mongering on the extent of alleged problems around airport-related water quality. We are not, as HACAN claim, a major source of water pollution in local lakes and rivers.

"The fact is where the airport discharges surface water into local water bodies, we are regularly meeting the consents laid down by the statutory regulator, the Environment Agency. We are pleased HACAN have finally admitted that BAA is tackling water quality issues, which the Environment Agency and other bodies have recognised for some time. We have been reporting publicly for a decade, not least through our annual sustainability reports. Any major industrial site like Heathrow has responsibilities on water management, and the strategy we have published sets out progress made and further work to be done."