London’s river Crane was last week decimated by a major pollution when raw sewage leaked into the waterway.
Thousand of fish in the Thames tributary perished after an overflow of sewage leaked into the river affecting 10km of the venue along with 5km of the linked channel known as the Duke of Northumberland’s River.
The incident occurred after a six ton valve jammed shut during routine maintenance of a major sewer that serves Heathrow Airport leading to a build-up of sewage. Some of the build-up was removed by Thames Water engineers using tankers, however the volume meant not all of it could be removed, and faced with the choice of either letting the effluence flow back into the airport or out into the river Crane, Thames Water opted for the latter with devastating consequences for the river's fish stocks.
Among the species of the estimated 3000 fish killed were pike, perch and eels, roach, chub and gudgeon, with the Environment Agency working with Thames Water to limit the problem caused through a crash in oxygen levels in the water.
Chief Executive of Thames Water, Martin Baggs has said that the company is now "committed to put things right over the long term."
"The Crane has been much improved as an urban wildlife habitat and an attractive natural resource for the community in recent years mainly thanks to hard work of local volunteers, who are understandably upset to see their river suffer major environmental damage over much of its length," said Mr Baggs.
"We deeply regret this incident and we are committed to put things right over the long term.
"We will start that process by meeting this week with representatives from FORCE (Friend of the River Crane Environment), London Wildlife Trust, local anglers and the Environment Agency, so we can fully understand the extent of the damage, and what needs to be done to repair it."
Described by the EA as the most serious incident on a Thames tributary for several years, the agency has since also announced a full investigation has been launched in to the incident.
