Jump to content

My local river was polluted last week


kenj

Recommended Posts

I am surprised the EA has done as much as they have, they do sweat FA round here, there is always some lame excuse. Latest was that it is to unsafe to work from the site of a derelict mill, It was refurbed into luxury flats 10 years ago!

 

Is it worth contacting those other bunch of do littles, the Angling Trust?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There has now been another large spill. When I went down last week, there was a small boom at the exit of one of the three tunnels, where the oil was seeping under. Downstream of this was a sandy coloured path the width of the boom, where the algae on the sill had died off, or been bleached. Yesterday there were now two full width booms, one below the sill of the weir, the other 50 yards down across the gravel shallows. Now 75% of the algae has been bleached out. After the first pollution, there was a flood and a couple of guys fished the river and caught some chub and roach, one chub witnessed by the bailiff, which was encouraging, but since then several others, including myself, yesterday, have fish it and blanked without a bite from noted swims.

 

In our area of Berkshire, the EA have carried out many improvements to the waterways, along with restocking, despite cost cutting and fewer staff. On this river last year, a 2000 plus housing development close by, was allowing sand and cement to be washed off into the river, sending it orange. I reported it to the EA and they sent an officer along the next day. We walked the river and located the problem, a slurry lagoon that was overflowing, which was put right with straw bales.

 

This urban river was once full of shopping trolleys and other junk, but has been transformed in the last ten years by volunteers and the local council. The local ducks seem to be OK, so, once this leak is traced, we'll get some fish back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

kenj, on 15 Feb 2017 - 11:10, said:In our area of Berkshire, the EA have carried out many improvements to the waterways, along with restocking, despite cost cutting and fewer staff.

 

The cost of the rod licence tax hasn't dropped (actually gone up this year), so anglers should be receiving virtually a stable level of service. The cost-cutting argument just doesn't work where that department is concerned. The contribution from government towards Fisheries has dropped it is true, but that was always the lesser sum.

After higher water, fish may relocate and slowly repopulate from upstream, but if the entire ecology has been damaged they'll be struggling for food, and the habitats required for juvenile fish after any spawning just won't be in a fit state.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spoke to the EA officer on Thursday, who was surveying the river for improvements. He said that Thames Water were still trying to find the source of the pollution and having spent money on booms, etc, won't stop until they get their money back. This was my latest blog on the pollution. http://www.urbanfieldsportsman.com/index.php/blankety-blank-defeats-optimism-on-poisoned-river/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Following up on the pollution of my local river, it has suffered more pollution over the months of mostly petrol/oil based products. Unfortunately Thames Water have been unable to trace the culprits so far. The good news is that fish seem to have begun repopulating the river from upstream with chub and rudd visible in large numbers, especially small chub. I even contacted my tame EA contact to see whether they had restocked the river. This is planned, but it seems that nature got there first.

 

I decided to give the river a test fish last weekend, to find that some sort of powdery white scum was covering the surface, but fished through it anyway, catching a rudd immediately. Fishing only bread punch, I also caught roach, small chub and gudgeon, taking over 4 lb of silvers in two hours. With the EA due to carry out flow improvements on the near future all is not lost. This was my blog. http://www.urbanfieldsportsman.com/index.php/braybrooke-river-passes-the-bread-test-after-pollution/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.