Concerns as river pollution incident kills fish

Concerns have been raised after a river popular with walkers was polluted, causing fish to die.

The Environment Agency said it was investigating an incident on the River Stort in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, after pollution was seen being discharged from a pipe into the water on Friday.

Thames Water, which manages wastewater in the area, said the issue had since been fixed and teams had worked to increase oxygen levels in the water.

David Strudwick has lived on a houseboat on this stretch of the river for three years and said the water had "looked like old washing-up water" that smelled like "horrible stagnant old water".

"It's disgusting," Strudwick said.

"We live here, when we open out hatches on our boat we are less than a metre from it.

"We had to keep them shut all evening because it did smell quite bad."

Strudwick added: "I wouldn't ever swim in this river, ever.

He said it was "unusual" to see the pollution coming from the pipe and he had been in regular communication with the Environment Agency on the issue.

Jeremy White, 51, also from the town, did not know about the leak initially and was worried as he had just let his dog jump in.

"I was sad to hear that there's been some pollution that may have been put in the Stort here," he said.

"It's a lovely part of the area and it gets used a hell of a lot.

"People come by, walk their dogs and they cycle up and down.

"We don't go swimming in it, but the dog does... so it is a bit of a concern... I've just been throwing my ball into the water for my dog, and it's gone in seven or eight times on this walk alone.

"I wouldn't have done that had I known that there'd been a potential spill."

Inne Siera, 51, who lives in the town and visits the river once a week, saw posts about the sewage leak on Facebook.

"It's a lovely area to walk through... it's obviously sad," she said.

"You can tell they are trying to fix it, so hopefully it will all be resolved fairly swiftly."

She added: "It is a concern... I'm just glad to see that they're trying to put some remediation in place."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said specialist teams were monitoring the water quality and assessing the impact on the river and wildlife.

"The pollution has stopped and Thames Water has taken remedial action, including installing aeration equipment to improve oxygen levels in the river. The Environment Agency will continue to monitor the River Stort and assess the impacts of this incident," they added.

A Thames Water spokesperson said aeration work to increase oxygen levels in the river had already had a positive effect and would remain in place.

"Our team have been working urgently to improve the water quality of the River Stort and we will continue to engage with the Environment Agency to ensure it returns to normal as soon as possible," they said.

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