Water firm sorry for chemical leak
Feb 28 2009 The Journal
A WATER company apologised after a chemical spill left thousands of fish dead in a North East river. Northumbrian Water admitted a leak of a chemical used at a water treatment plant near The Derwent had caused the pollution.
It has apologised to the local fishing club, the Derwent Angling Association, and promised to work with members to restock the river.
The Environment Agency said the spill, which happened near Allensford in County Durham, devastated about six miles (10km) of the river to Blackhall Mill.
Experts from the Agency believe up to 300 brown trout and thousands of other species of fish including grayling, eels and lamprey died.
They classed it as a “serious pollution incident”.
The pollution came as a blow to conservationists who have worked to turn the Derwent from a once dirty, industrial stream to one of the best trout rivers in the region.
As well as the fish killed, experts said the pollution could have a knock-on effect on the ecosystem of the area, including insects, birds and mammals such as otters and that the river could take years to recover. The Environment Agency says it is still investigating and will decide on what action to take over the spill once its inquiries are finished.
A spokesman for Northumbrian Water said: “On Tuesday we discovered that an alkali used in the water treatment process was spilling at a water treatment works and some had escaped into a drain and then into a burn and on into the River Derwent.
“It was a brief but serious spill and a full investigation is under way at the treatment works to establish why it happened and why the systems that we have in place to prevent something like this happening failed.
“As soon as the spill was spotted it was stopped and more fresh water was flushed into the river to mitigate any impact. Derwent Reservoir was also releasing millions of litres of water into the Derwent at the time which further diluted any impact.
“Northumbrian Water takes its environmental responsibility very seriously and regrets this incident and we will work with the Environment Agency and the local fishing club to repair any damage and restock fish that were killed.
“The spill didn’t create any danger to the public and initial investigations indicate that impact on the River Derwent was confined to its upper reaches below the Derwent Reservoir.”
Alan Farbridge, secretary of Derwent Angling Association, said: “There have been thousands of fish killed, the whole ecosystem has been destroyed.
“It’s absolutely tragic.”
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