Rescued fish are ones that get away
Hundreds of fish have been released into a Wolverhampton canal where 50,000 have died due to mass pollution.
An emergency fish rescue carried out by the Environment Agency saw 400 roach released into the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal in Pendeford. The Environment Agency relocated the fish from shallow waters in Crane Brook, Norton Canes, yesterday.
They were transported to Pendeford to be released into the canal, which last month fell victim to a toxic pollution from Severn Trent's Barnhurst sewage plant, near Autherley Junction.
A member of the public alerted the Environment Agency to fish trapped in the shallow waters of the Crane Brook, which runs low each summer. The roach, which were finding it hard to move around, range from five to eight inches. Derek Dennis, Environment Agency fisheries officer, carried out the rescue. He said today: "We wanted to move quickly. The waters of the canal were hit badly by the pollution incident last month, and yesterday presented a chance to start repairing some of the damage, which is great news for anglers."
Over the past month British Waterways and the Environment Agency have been working to reduce the impact of the pollution, which also affected the nearby Shropshire Union Canal.
A total of 50,000 fish have been killed since a toxic substance, thought to be ammonia, leaked from the Barnhurst sewage plant on the Pendeford-Oxley border.
Anglers said the pollution has spread more than 30 miles. The pollution has also been detected in Market Drayton, although it is no longer strong enough to kill any fish after being diluted by the Environment Agency.
News of the pollution emerged after anglers completed a dossier of evidence about the chemical spillage.
The dossier is due to be handed over to Fish Legal, which fights against water pollution across the country.
It could lead to legal action being taken against Severn Trent Water, which has already confirmed the source of the problem was its Barnhurst sewage plant.
