Just recieved a call, there has been another pollution incident on the River wandle.
This happened around 4pm today, the E.A. were onsite by 4.30pm and samples tested confirm Sodium hypochlorite ( bleach ).
The pollution entered the river at the same site as the last incident, the suspects are Virador.
30 dead Barbel between 6lb to 10lb plus many Roach and Chub to 8lb.
Very sad
More importantly, what the hell is going on there? Is it a single polluter or untreated stormwater discharge or what?
This might be a good activism topic. You'll have a lot of publicity with multiple incidents in quick succession. Let us know what we can do make somehting happen as you are a local and more familiar with the local political/environmental scene.
Matt
Sign the petition supporting wild steelhead release on Oregon's Umpqua River system.
A suspected single polluter Virador Waste Management for domestic landfill sites or Thames Water Sewage works at Beddington Lane, London Borough of Sutton. Probably a large water salination discharge.
This might be a good activism topic. You'll have a lot of publicity with multiple incidents in quick succession. Let us know what we can do make something happen as you are a local and more familiar with the local political/environmental scene.
Any one who would like to be actively involved please send me a PM.
Regards
Wizard
Sorry to hear that Wizard. That is very sad news. It's a beautiful little river and must feel like a real kick in the teeth to everyone trying to restore it. Can you let us know when the actual polluters are confirmed? Addresses/phone numbers of the offenders to contact would be useful at that stage.
Pollution causes devastating fish kill on River Wandle
Officers from the Environment Agency are investigating reports of a pollution incident that has killed at least 2,000 fish along a 5km stretch of the River Wandle in south London
The Environment Agency received a call from a member of the public on Monday after he reported seeing dead fish in the Wandle between Beddington and Merton.
Officers who visited the site found dead fish including barbel, chub and eels and it is expected that other species have been affected by the spillage.
The site was monitored closely overnight and Environment Agency teams are onsite today collecting further evidence. A clean up operation is being jointly organised with Thames Water Utilities Limited.
Mike Denbigh, Environment Management team leader, said: “This is a serious incident, which has affected approximately 5km of the River Wandle.
“We will not be able to confirm the exact nature of the pollutant that has entered the stream until water samples are analysed. The early notification from the member of the public enabled us to respond quickly. As a result we feel confident that we will discover the cause of this incident.
“Our officers are continuing to assess conditions along the river, but it will take some time for us to determine the full environmental impact.”
The Environment Agency believes it has traced the source of the pollution and the investigation is ongoing.
As I'm up in London for work until tomorrow I've had a mooch along the lower reaches this evening. There are still some cracking good sized trout & what looked like chub down in the lower reaches by Wandsworth. Very sad footage on that video. I know all of you who put so much time and effort in must be devestated after all the hard work gets undermined like this. All I can do is wish you good luck as you try to keep the morale up and think long-term. Many people look to your project for inspiration, & we're all rooting for you.
It's called the River Wandle, [...], I'll get around to telling you more about it sometime. Right now, the important thing to know is that it's a chalkstream: the original chalkstream, in fact, where dry fly fishing was invented so long ago that no-one even bothered to write it down.
When they did, they called it the "Carshalton Dodge", whipping their flies though the air to dry them, flicking them lightly over trout grown huge on herds of scuds and caddis in these richest of limestone waters. Only months before he drowned in the sinking of the "Lusitania", one of the locals reckoned to take more than 500 trout a year from one single quarter-mile stretch of river, just downstream from my bridge - and that was when "taking" a trout really did mean taking it, with a sharp tap between the eyes, and a short toss into a bulging wicker creel.
But then two trouticidal innovations arrived at once: tar on the roads, and water-abstraction from the river's chalky aquifer.
I'm beyond speech, really. Some of you may recall that I wrote about the Wandle here a couple of years ago; I've just been down there today and it's horribly, indescribably sad to see such good work destroyed so senselessly. I live less than two miles from the river, and was watching barbel feed there ten days ago; I may never see that again in my lifetime. And for this, someone will pay a £5,000 fine...
According to the ACA, Thames Water accepted responsibility for the incident after carrying out an urgent internal investigation.
The company revealed that the pollution was caused by a blunder at Beddington Sewage Treatment Works.
Sodium hydrochloride was being used to clean its tertiary treatment screens, but instead of being circulated back through the treatment works, it was accidentally discharged into the river.
Thames Water immediately offered to meet with the local angling clubs and the Wandle Trust to discuss restocking and long term support for the work of the Trust.
Wizard/Sean...
The only way these people will respect the enviroment
is to hit them in the pocket. or disrupt there $$$$ flow..
you'll have to do something drastic to draw there attention to the error of there ways....
We had an incident here in NZ where a developer
ignored an order not to remove trees..He wanted to developing a building sub division..$$$$$ signs were the only thing that ruled his small brain....
After he had chainsawed several trees down he appeared before the judge..the judge ruled.........
"You willl replant the trees.. and not develop the
site for 10 years......
That slowed him down a little!!
Thames water is a private utility company - owned by Kemble Water, part of Macquarie, the European wing of an Australian finance and insurance corporation. It is not a Water Authority - that system was dismantled some years ago.
Water prices are regulated by Ofwat - little chance this will find its way though them to consumers.
20 Sept 2007 River Wandle pollution - statement from Thames Water
Thames Water has pledged to carry out a thorough clean-up of the river Wandle after chemicals leaked from a sewage treatment works.
A significant number of fish are believed to have perished after cleaning solvents entered the river during work being carried out to improve the water quality in the Wandle in South West London.
Director of Wastewater Services, Bob Collington apologised on behalf of Thames Water and said it would do as much as possible to bring the river back to full health.
"We want to apologise to everyone in the community who enjoys the Wandle.
"We are dismayed this has happened, particularly after all the investment we have made in recent years in bringing the river back to health and turning it into a haven for wildlife, as well as the work we have carried out in preventing incidents such as this one.
"A thorough investigation is being conducted and we are taking immediate steps to ensure this sort of event cannot happen again.
"Our top priority now is to work closely with the Environment Agency on cleaning up the affected areas of the river, and we will do everything we can to restore the river's ecosystem, including replacing lost fish and affected habitats."
