Editing River Aire (section)

== Ecology ==
Because the Aire flows through the former industrial landscape of West Yorkshire, it was heavily polluted.<ref>{{cite web|title=A brief history of the River Aire|url=http://aireriverstrust.org.uk/a-brief-history-of-the-river-aire/|publisher=Aire Rivers Trust|access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref> In 2007, [[Yorkshire Water]] carried out improvements to [[Esholt]] Sewage Works at a cost of £110&nbsp;million under the [[European Union Parliament|EU]]'s Fresh Water Fish Directive. Whilst [[Trout]] are prevalent above Keighley, the river is host to others such as [[Chub]], [[Leuciscus|Dace]], [[Barbel (fish)|Barbel]] & [[Thymallus|Grayling]], whilst Sea Trout have been noted as far upriver as Shipley.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title = Waste Water |url = https://www.yorkshirewater.com/household/services/waste-water#ls7|publisher= Yorkshire Water|access-date = 21 October 2015}}</ref> Work is also being undertaken to make some weirs easier for fish to negotiate.<ref>{{cite web|title = River Water Quality |url = https://www.yorkshirewater.com/about-us/what-we-do/investment-environment/river-water-quality|publisher= Yorkshire Water|access-date = 21 October 2015}}</ref> Improvements have allowed [[Eurasian otter]]s and [[European water vole]]s to return to the river as the water and food quality is far superior to that when the river was polluted.<ref>{{cite web|title = Pollution is water under the bridge|url = http://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/1650812.Pollution_is_water_under_the_bridge/|work= Keighley News|access-date = 20 October 2015}}</ref> In the upper reaches of the river around Bell Busk and Malham, [[white-clawed crayfish]] are present in the tributaries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Life returns to the Upper Aire with hopes high it will soon see otters again |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=stp%3ANewspaper%21Newspaper/year%3A2019%212019&sort=_rank_%3AD&page=4&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=Yorkshire%20dales%20flood&docref=news/17631FF03353C928 |access-date=27 January 2020 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=26 September 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

A joint project between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust will instal four fish passes on the last four high weirs on the river, with the intent of allowing salmon to return to Skipton for the first time since the Industrial Revolution. The project will also benefit eels, lamprey and other coarse fish. The project is expected to be complete by early 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aireriverstrust.org.uk/fish-passes/|title=Fish Passes|access-date=26 January 2021|publisher=Aire Rivers Trust}}</ref>

Castleford Wastewater Treatment Works has had £16&nbsp;million of investment between 2013 and 2015. The improvements to this plant, which discharges water directly into the Aire, has improved water quality downstream.<ref name=":0" />

[[Rodley Nature Reserve]], Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, [[St Aidan's|St Aidans]] and [[Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve|Fairburn Ings]] [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds|RSPB]] reserve all lie alongside the Aire.