A Sutton MP has called the latest pollution spill into the River Wandle an “environmental disaster”, after an estimated 4,000 litres of diesel was released into the rare chalk stream yesterday.
Coot short: wildlife has been seen covered in diesel on the River Wandle
Officials from Merton Council, crews from the London Fire Brigade and staff from the Environment Agency were on site, leading efforts to remove the polluting fuel and assist stricken wildlife that have been slicked in the diesel.
The public has been asked to stay clear of the river.
The leak has been reported as coming from a bus depot in Thornton Heath. Thornton Heath is two miles from the River Wandle, while there is another bus depot much closer to the river, at Beddington Lane.
An eye-witness, and local environmentalist, Jim Duffy, told Inside Croydon today: “Just been out on the river.
“Our stretch by Wilderness Island hasn’t been affected by the diesel spill, nor the Carshalton branch which also passes Wilderness Island on its north side.
“So the impact seems to be on the northern channels of the river going through the top end of Hackbridge onwards to Poulter Park.”
Angry: Carshalton and Wallington MP Bobby Dean’s tweet last night
Merton Council said that the spill had severely impacted the Watermeads Nature Reserve in Mitcham.
Bobby Dean, the LibDem MP for Carshalton and Wallington, tweeted last night: “Residents have reported to me an environmental disaster on the Wandle today.
“A major diesel spillage has left wildlife covered and caused untold damage to the waterway.”
Dean seemed suitably annoyed: “I’m in touch with the Environment Agency and will make sure those responsible are held to account.”
This is just the latest incident that has threatened to undermine long-term efforts to clean up the Wandle, from its status as an open sewer and channel for industrial effluent in the Victorian era and into the 20th century, and transform it into a thriving eco-system by the early 21st Century.
Not that that stops Thames Water from wanting permission to continue to dump sewage into the Wandle for the next 10 years. Don’t expect Steve Reed to do anything about that, either.
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