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My local river was polluted last week


kenj

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A small river that runs through my town was killed off last week, when toluene found it's way down a land drain from an industrial estate into the river. The banks stink of oil and the fish have gone, dead fish found five miles downstream. I fished a bite a cast swim this week and didn't have a fish.

 

It went from this

 

http://imgur.com/a/qtGl9

 

to this

 

http://imgur.com/a/ou5uu

 

Very sad. This was my blog http://www.urbanfieldsportsman.com/index.php/death-of-an-urban-river/

Edited by kenj
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Sickener m8....that's often happening to my local river and people say "don't worry, it'll come back"....it hasn't and if it ever does i'll be dead or too effin old and frigged out to bother fishing.

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Has it been reported to the EA?

John S

Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra

 

Species caught in 2017 Common Ash, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, White Willow.

Species caught in 2016: Alder, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Crab Apple, Left Earlobe, Pedunculate Oak, Rock Whitebeam, Scots Pine, Smooth-leaved Elm, Swan, Wayfaring tree.

Species caught in 2015: Ash, Bird Cherry, Black-Headed Gull, Common Hazel, Common Whitebeam, Elder, Field Maple, Gorse, Puma, Sessile Oak, White Willow.

Species caught in 2014: Big Angry Man's Ear, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Common Whitebeam, Downy Birch, European Beech, European Holly, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, Wych Elm.
Species caught in 2013: Beech, Elder, Hawthorn, Oak, Right Earlobe, Scots Pine.

Species caught in 2012: Ash, Aspen, Beech, Big Nasty Stinging Nettle, Birch, Copper Beech, Grey Willow, Holly, Hazel, Oak, Wasp Nest (that was a really bad day), White Poplar.
Species caught in 2011: Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder, Fir, Hawthorn, Horse Chestnut, Oak, Passing Dog, Rowan, Sycamore, Willow.
Species caught in 2010: Ash, Beech, Birch, Elder, Elm, Gorse, Mullberry, Oak, Poplar, Rowan, Sloe, Willow, Yew.

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The toluene has strong petrol like fumes, which are toxic and the fire brigade, plus the police were called out initially, as houses are less than a hundred yards from the river. The environment agency were then called out. The drainage system is the responsibility of Thames Water, so it could take a long time to pin down a prosecution, if any.

 

Even if the river is eventually restocked, it is unlikely to return to it's former glory, being full of quality perch, roach and rudd, good chub, bream and carp, plus some of the biggest gudgeon I've ever seen. Running through a public park, there was good parking, toilets and a cafe, being fished by young and old alike for free.

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I wouldn't like to say how long it will take, but I have fished a recovering river which went through a phase of producing some fantastic roach fishing. It settled down to a more natural population structure over time, but at one point there were a few strong year classes, not much predation and plenty of food.

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Steve, - All,

 

When a tragedy like this occurs in the US only a small amount of time passes before it is returned to "a natural state", including the entire local limnology. I'm talking less than a couple days. Stocking and clean-up projects are charged to the perpetrator. Every state has a Department of Natural Resources as well as the federal Environmental Agency and the federal Fish and Wildlife that jump right on this sort of thing.

 

This thread doesn't pass the SNIFF TEST.

 

Toluene evaporates within a few hours when released to water, and it has little tendency to accumulate in aquatic life.

 

Tell me more about the event?

 

Phone

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Nothing happens here fast ,lots of yellow jackets congregate in the area ,mutterings more mutterings ,more powerful entities appear with brand new yellow jackets (to important to wear one twice) more mutterings ,many pointings ,note taking on ipads then quiet for a week

More yellow jackets ,mutterings pointings ,note taking on clip boards more pointing with the occasional nod then quiet for a week.

Dirty yellow jackets appear with clean (not new but used sparingly) yellow jackets ,mutterings ,pointings ,muttering ,nod nod mutter point ,notes taken on fag packets

Then nothing.

A car went over our bridge

Fhttp://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/tilford-bridge-smash-car-precariously-12484030

,it luckily knocked down the temporary railing put up when a railing support broke last year,to date all types of yellow jackets with mumblings pointing and nodding on several visits but still bridge firmly closed even with no damage except to the previously damaged railing (never had any railing for 900 years)

In japan it would be fixed next day ,thats britain !

The wood railings are the railings ,the yellow barriers went up last year when one post snapped because of rot ,the bridge itself is unharmed the whole thing had its internals taken out and replaced with vast iron girders then filled with reinforced concrete ,the damn thing is nuke proof

So in essence a village is cut in half because a rotten beam was knocked out!

I walk over it every day i could have fixed it in a day! I even have a six inch square oak post lying about but i guess the tossers in english heritage would insist one was found dating from 1908 ,chopped down with an axe of the period ,hewn with an adze and moved into position with a carthorse ,Aframe and by a chap called micheal from cornwall!

Edited by chesters1
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Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

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Toluene is quite volatile, but is toxic to aquatic life. There is a local paper report describing it as a "fuel spillage" - that would be consistent with some oily residues still hanging around, I suppose.

 

Phone, I don't see how you can restore a watercourse in a few days after a severe pollution event; if somewhere gets hit badly, say by organophosphate insecticide, not only will the fish be gone, but so will the invertebrate communities. Can chuck some more fish in, but you can't easily remediate damage to the whole ecosystem.

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Steve,

 

I confess the current technology post dates my knowledge. Organophosphate pesticides and toluene are apples and oranges different.

Toluene, reasonably large spills, aren't really a problem. Especially if you are not going to eat the fish. I can't believe a stream could be "badly damaged" by toluene for more than a few hours.

 

Organophodphate pesticides OTOH do require as much as a season although rarely anymore. I don't want to downplay the seriousness of any chemical spill. I just want to stress it is an area of inevitability that has actually been addressed PRIOR to the event.

 

Phone

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Replying to Phone. I was told that it was toluene by the Environment Agency. I test fished it about 10 days after the spill. There was an oily smell on the bank, plus a slimy residue, where the river had over flowed due to heavy rain. The swim I fished, usually will produce around 30 to 50 fish of mixed species, gudgeon, roach, rudd and chub in 3 hours. I was fishing bread punch, which is an instant response bait. I didn't get a bite, despite running through, holding back and laying on.

 

When working in industry, we used toluene as a paint thinners and as a cleaning product. An independent air supply had to be used, as the operator could get nausea and flu like simptoms, if exposed for any amount of time. When I raced a car, we used to use it as an octane booster, but it would discolour the paintwork if splashed over the funnel. Nasty stuff. Reading up on experiments with fish exposed to it, toluene would kill a salmon in a day and a striped bass in three.

 

I have been involved with a local club, who have raised finance to install safe fishing platforms, while the EA were also about to start tree and flow work on this overgrown river, with the aim to promote fishing among the local community. This could all be for nothing.

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