Mistake that caused 50,000 deaths

• Jun. 18 by Natalie Adcock (1)

Severn Trent may be taken to court because of an incident in April, where 50,000 fish were killed when thirty miles of Wolverhampton canals were polluted by a sewage plant.

Fish Legal, who fight against water pollution across the country, is currently putting together a dossier of evidence against Severn Trent.

Fish such as pike, perch and bream of all sizes have had to be removed from the canals.

Severn Trent confirmed that the source of the problem was the company’s Barnhurst sewage plant on Barnhurst Lane in Oxley and they are currently investigating who is responsible for the incident and the source of the pollution.

The Environment Agency and British Waterways did a great job monitoring and controlling the problem. It can’t have been easy dealing with cleaning up a catastrophe this size but this month they have been restocking the canal with roach rescued from the Crane Brook in Norton Canes, Staffordshire because of low water levels.

Angry Anglers were demanding the legal action as the re-stocking may continue until autumn. Conservationists are also worried about the effects on birds such a heron.

It’s not the first time that the company have been responsible for pollution and the death of animals but no statement has been released.

I feel that more attention should be brought to this error, as it seems to have slipped under the radar of many media outlets. Birmingham Recycled will keep its readers updated with Fish Legal’s progress.