Tag Archive | Environment Agency
The Canal and River Trust said the fish killed by the pollution included pike, roach and perchAttempts are being made to rescue thousands of fish from a Leicestershire canal after it became polluted.
Hundreds of dead fish found in a waterway in Spalding, England, UK
Hundreds of fish found in a waterway on the edge of Spalding died because of “low oxygen levels in the water”, according to environmental officers.
Dog walkers and passers-by discovered the fish lying dead in Vernatts Drain, near Johnson Community Hospital, on Friday and Monday.
Specialists from the Environment Agency used air pumps to raise oxygen levels in the water, repeating a similar exercise carried out nearly four years ago when hundreds more fish died in similar circumstances.
George Scott, chairman of Spalding and Peterborough Transport Forum, said: “I was walking my dog along Blue Gowt Drove and turned left towards the hospital when I saw what I thought were a lot of lilies out on Vernatts Drain.
“Then I looked again and saw hundreds of fish, including some big ones, dead in the water.
“I’d never seen anything like it before and someone told me that they may have been there since Friday.
“I remember when the fire service came out a couple of years ago to pump oxygen into the water, but I wasn’t sure whether it was a case of lack of oxygen this time.
“It’s good to report things like this rather than just walk past and ignore it because if it’s worth noticing then it’s worth reporting to somebody.”
During the summer, fish are in danger because of low rainfall and high temperatures which can lead to lower oxygen levels in the water.
Keith Morgan, team leader at the Environment Agency, said: “We have responded to a report of dead fish in Vernatts Drain, near Spalding, where our officers attended immediately and identified that this was due to low oxygen levels in the water.
“This is a fairly common occurrence at this time of year which can be caused by low water flows, water temperature or the weather.
“We have used aeration pumps to help increase the amount of oxygen in the water back to where it should be.”
Courtesy of spaldingtoday.co.uk
Alignment of moon, earth and sun to spark SUPERTIDES and bring flood chaos to Britain
SUPERTIDES will be triggered across Britain thanks to the extraordinary gravity field created when the sun, earth and moon align for the first time in two decades
The supertide hits Essex
Environment Agency experts have already issued 10 flood warnings and 44 flood alerts based on predictions of super high-tides and potentially catastrophic flooding in coastal across the nation.
Most at risk are parts of the River Wye estuary in Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire, and north-east of England.
An Environment Agency spokesman said the high tides would be likely to hit mid-week and added: “There is a particular risk of flooding around the Wye estuary in Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, along with parts of the Yorkshire coast.
People virtually swimming in Essex
“Localised disruption to travel and some flooding of low-lying land and individual properties is possible.
“We urge people to take care near coastal paths and promenades and not to drive through flood water.
“The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely alongside the Met Office and will issue further flood updates and warnings if required.
“We urge people to take care near coastal paths and promenades and not to drive through flood water.
“The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely alongside the Met Office and will issue further flood updates and warnings if required.
Courtesy of express.co.uk
1,500 dead fish found in a river in Suffolk, England, UK
Dead fish in the River Lark at Eastgate Street, Bury St Edmunds
Members of the public spotted the floating corpses in the river next to the Abbey Gardens, where it flows alongside Eastgate Street.
The Environment Agency estimates 1,500 fish of various sizes and species have perished – including perch, pike, roach, chub and dace – due to the combined effects of hot temperatures, low flow and low oxygen levels, coupled with the weekend’s torrential rain, which stirred up sediment at the bottom of the river.
The River Gipping at Needham Market has also been affected, where the agency reports 1,000 small to medium fish have died, while about 100 fish have died on the River Blackwater in Bocking, north Essex.
Speaking of the River Lark, an Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “This is the largest fish kill in recent years on the Lark at this location, although we have attended similar, smaller scale events previously. The last incident was in 2013, however this did not include any fish mortalities.”
Penny Stevens, from Stowmarket, came across the dead fish in Bury on Monday and reported it to the agency.
“It’s awful,” she said. “The kids were all coming out of school and saw it.”
The agency spokeswoman said over the weekend its team dosed the river with hydrogen peroxide to increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water after levels “dropped quite severely”.
She said they went out again on Monday and the oxygen levels in the river had stabilised, but they would be keeping a close eye on the situation.
The landowner, St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said they had been advised by the agency to leave the dead fish in the river “because the process of pulling them out disturbs the substrate and makes matters worse”.
However, after inspecting the area yesterday morning the council will be discussing this with them further.
An Environment Agency spokesman said dead and distressed fish on the River Gipping, in Needham Market, were reported to them on Sunday afternoon.
“We identified the likely cause to be low levels of oxygen in the water, a natural occurrence usually brought on by hot weather. Shortly after we put two aerators into the river to re-oxygenate the water. The aerators will remain in place until oxygen levels return to safe levels for the fish,” he said.
The deceased fish in the River Blackwater were spotted as they drifted downstream to Braintree. About 50-60 fish also died on the River Chelmer, in Chelmsford. Both of these rivers recovered naturally, the agency said.
Courtesy of eadt.co.uk
Hundreds of dead fish found in a river in Darlington, England, UK
THE discovery of hundreds of dead fish has prompted an investigation into a possible pollution incident.
The Environment Agency said a 14km stretch of Aldbrough Beck, at Aldbrough St John, near Darlington, was affected.
The waterway is a tributary of the River Tees.
A spokesman for the agency said: “We received reports on Sunday of dead fish in Aldbrough Beck.
“Environment Agency officers investigated and found that 14km of the river were affected.
“Several hundred fish, mainly trout and bullheads, have died. Water samples have been taken and an investigation is ongoing.”
Thomas Fenwick, a parish councillor in Aldbrough St John, said the incident was discussed at a meeting of the authority on Tuesday night.
He added: “I haven’t seen them myself but apparently dead fish have been reported since Monday morning.
“There’s about 30 to 40 that have been found in the village. I don’t know how far upstream the problem goes.”
The investigation comes about a year after hundreds of fish died in a similar incident.
In June last year, a 10km stretch of the waterway was devastated by a pollution spill.
The incident was described at the time as the most serious of its kind by the Environment Agency and experts warned that it could take several years for fish stocks in the beck to recover from the damage caused by the incident.
The Environment Agency has warned that anyone found to have been dumping waste into the watercourse will be prosecuted.
Courtesy of thenorthernecho
Thousands of fish dying due to algae in Norfolk, England, UK
A toxic algae has killed thousands of fish on the Norfolk Broads. Conservation teams from the Environment Agency have managed to net nearly half a million fish from around West Somerton and Hickling Broads and released them into fresher water, like at the Herbert Woods boatyard in Potter Heigham. The fish affected are mostly bream, roach, pike, perch and eels.
“It’s very distressing, especially for the public who come past. The Environment Agency are doing a really good job moving that many fish means they’ve got a chance of survival. If they leave them down at West Somerton there may have been more deaths than 5000. We don’t know what’s going to happen down there at the moment”
– JOHN BRUNNING, BOATYARD MANAGER
There are concerns that large numbers of dead fish will not only impact the environment but also the essential tourism trade in the area. Angling, alone, is worth an estimated £100 million a year.
“There’s been lots of work done on the socio-economic value of angling on the Broads. A recebnt survey undertaken last year shows that 18% of visitors to the Broads take part in angling when they’re here. And we don’t want their memories of the Broads to be dead fish”
– KELVIN ALLEN, ANGLING TRUST
There’s no definitive cause of the prymnesium aglae. It’s probably existed on the Broads for a century. The algae thrives in mild weather and is probably exacerbated by two elements. salt in the water, either from tidal surges or deep drainage systems and nutrients washing into the rivers from the land”
The fish instinctively move away from the toxin and form giant shoals – often in the same areas where they use up all the oxygen and die. More fish may be moved away in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, scientists from the John Innes centre are working on developing a dipping stick that can be used to test the water. If anyone sees a fish in distress they can contact the Environment Agency.
Courtesy of itv.com
Cars submerged under water as high spring tides bring flooding to South-West London, UK
Submerged cars: Flooding at Richmond on Friday (Picture: Robert Jackson)
High tides on the River Thames left cars submerged under several feet of water in west London today.
Flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency for riverside properties over the weekend amid warnings due to exceptionally high tides on the Thames.
And burst river banks at Richmond left cars submerged under floodwater on Friday afternoon.
Warnings were also in place for parts of Twickenham, Chiswick and Bermondsey.
Thames Barrier operators earlier warned of “very high tides” on Friday afternoon and Saturday.
Two children wade through floodwater in Richmond (Picture: Robert Jackson)
In spring last year, high tides at Richmond saw a luxury yacht crash into a bridge due to rapidly rising water levels.
The Thames Barrier is expected to fit to protect London form flooding until around 2050, according to the Environment Agency.
Submerged: vast swathes of London would have been underwater if not for the Thames Barrier (Picture: Environment Agency)
The 1,700ft-long shield, which started operating in 1983, protects about 1.2 million people and property worth £200 billion.
Last winter, the barrier was closed a record-breaking 50 times between December 2013 and the end of February 2014 as parts of the south-east were hit by severe flooding.
Courtesy of London Evening Standard
Flooding Warning Issued As Western UK Braces For Tidal Surges, Bad Weather, And Planetary Alignments
The Severn bore — one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the United Kingdom — has combined with inclement weather and an influential astronomical alignment to trigger high flooding alerts across the west of the country this weekend. The warnings, issued by the Environment Agency, indicate that flooding is “expected” and “immediate action is required.”
The Severn bore is a large tidal surge that occurs in the Severn Estuary — the tidal basin of the longest river in the U.K — several times a year. Running at 220 miles in length, the River Severn becomes an estuary in Gloucestershire, before discharging into the Bristol Channel, the Celtic Sea, and ultimately, the Atlantic Ocean. The vast body of water has the third-highest tidal range in the world, behind the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay — both in Canada — and the bore phenomenon is characterized by a large wave travelling upstream, against the current. The geography of the estuary, as reported by Wales Online, means that a funnel effect is created as water is forced through the narrowing channel during a rising tide. The Severn bore has been known to travel at speeds of up to 13 miles per hour, with spring time generating the largest surges. The largest recorded was on October 15, 1966, reaching a height of 2.8 metres.
The phenomenon is popular with surfers, who watch for the Severn bore predictions and gather each year to ride the wave. In March 2006, surfer Steve King set a world record by surfing the phenomenon in a standing position for 7.6 miles in one hour and 17 minutes. The Telegraph reports that predictions of a particularly large bore drew large numbers of surfers on this occasion.
Though the bore itself has now peaked, the situation is complicated by bad weather — with strong winds expected to generate more waves and increase sea levels. Adding further complexity is the presence of a particular astronomical alignment that is expected to exaggerate tidal surges. Tides are caused by the combination of gravitational forces from the sun, the moon, and the rotation of the earth. It is understood that an 18-year cycle can be seen through these processes, finding that the effects of gravitational forces — when occurring at the same time as this specific planetary alignment — can exacerbate the effects of high tides and associated coastal flooding.
Responding to the predicted surges and environmental complications, the Environment Agency of the U.K have issued flood warnings for western coastal areas — particularly Bristol — suggesting that the surge could reach up to 20 miles inland. A statement released jointly by the Environment Agency and the Met Office (which deals with atmospheric conditions), as reported by The Western Daily Press, sought to manage expectations, however.
“It’s important to realise that just because we are expecting big astronomical tides over the next few days, these won’t cause the highest sea levels we’ve seen – even in the last few years. That’s because the weather can have a much bigger impact on sea levels than the 18 year cycle.
“Strong winds can pile water up on coastlines, and low pressure systems can also cause a localised rise in sea level. Typically, the difference in water level caused by the weather can be between 20 to 30 centimetres, but it can be much bigger.”
The flood warnings are expected to remain in force for the weekend, due to bad weather, as reported by The Western Daily Press, with Devon and Cornwall also particularly affected.
Courtesy of Inquisitr
Thousands of fish dead ‘due to pollution’ in a canal in Leicestershire, England, UK
The Canal and River Trust said the fish killed by the pollution included pike, roach and perchAttempts are being made to rescue thousands of fish from a Leicestershire canal after it became polluted.
Farm slurry was washed into the Grand Union Canal Leicester line last month, polluting a four mile stretch between Kilby and Foxton.
The Environment Agency said an estimated 2,000 fish had been killed and they were now working to contain the pollution and remove the dead fish.
Staff are trying to move thousands more live fish away from the area.
The Canal and River Trust, which is helping the Environment Agency and Natural England with the rescue attempt, said the waterway was currently closed to boaters.
Three organisations are working together to rescue the fish and contain the pollution
Waterway manager for the trust, Neil Owen, said: “It’s really sad that we’ve had so many fish die from the careless actions of an individual which allowed slurry to enter our waterway.
“Fortunately we have managed to move many thousands of fish away from the pollution plug but we still have a busy task ahead of us in trying to break down the pollution.”
Matthew Gable from the Environment Agency said: “Unfortunately there has been some environmental damage already done.
“Our efforts now are aimed at trying to reduce that and limit it to where it currently is and stop it from spreading further down the canal and into the River Soar.”
Courtesy Of The BBC
Environment Agency issues flood alerts as tidal surge expected along Suffolk and Essex coast, UK
The Environment Agency issued the warnings this afternoon and has said they will be in force until 4am Saturday.
The caution is focused around Lowestoft, Bawdsey, Felixstowe, Clacton and Southwold, with the Orwell and Stour Estuaries, the River Deben and the River Waveney likely to be affected.
The surge could lead to tide levels to rising half a metre higher than normal.
The Environment Agency has said it will continue to monitor levels closely as disruption was expected to continue for the next few days.
Courtesy of East Anglian Daily Times
Flood alerts issued for parts of Surrey and Hampshire, UK
Three flood alerts have been issued for parts of Surrey and Hampshire.
The Environment Agency says they are for the River Mole, the Upper River Wey, and the Hoe Stream.
Places like Dorking, Leatherhead, Alton, Farnham and Woking could be affected this evening.
Low lying land and roads will be affected first.
Following a period of heavy rain this morning, the rivers are now responding and are expected to overtop banks in some places.
River levels are expected to remain high throughout the rest of the day and into tomorrow.
No further heavy rainfall is forecast, and the rest of the day will remain dry.
The Environment Agency also says they are not expecting properties to flood.
Courtesy of Eagle Radio
Please Donate To Support My Work
Earth Extremities 
Comments