During the 1980s the river even ran yellow in certain parts of the city, and was unable to ‘sustain plant or animal life of any kind’ for decades.
This however was an improvement on the state of the river during most of the 19th century, when raw sewage was discharged straight into the river.
It was not until the Meadowland treatment works site was opened in 1886, costing the council £23,933 - or £1.4million in today’s money - that the River Don’s first major clean-up operation began.
And now thanks to a £78million clean-up project at the Blackburn Meadows waste water treatment works near Meadowhall the River Don is finally clean enough for salmon to be welcomed back into its waters for the first time in over 200 years.