The Environment Agency is appealing to members of the public to help track down the source of the River Dee pollution incident that killed more than 10,000 game and coarse fish.
The Agency’s investigations were continuing, with officers concentrating on the areas upstream of Bangor-on-Dee, through Wrexham and down to Worthenbury. Since initial reports of the pollution were received on Saturday 29th July, many industrial and agricultural sites have been visited in an attempt to identify the source.
Tests show that oxygen levels in the affected stretch of the Dee have returned to normal, and water company abstraction points at Huntington, Poulton and Chester were all reopened on Monday. The specific pollutant has not been identified, but tests continue on a number of samples sent to specialist laboratories at Llanelli, Warrington and Chester.
Successful identification of the pollutant will help aid the investigation, but in the meantime the Agency is hopeful that someone, somewhere might be able to shed some light on how the pollution ended up in the river.
Andrew Dixon, the Agency’s Northern Area Environment Protection Manager, said: “We are dedicating maximum resources to this task but we are anxious to talk to anyone who may be able to help us identify where it came from. Although identifying the source will never rectify the damage that has been done to the Dee fishery, it is important that whoever committed this environmental crime is not allowed to get away with it.”
The Agency has not ruled out the possibility that the pollution was caused by criminal activity, with materials being transported to the river by tanker, truck or van.
The Agency has again appealed to people living or working in the Bangor on Dee to Farndon area to get in touch if they saw or heard anything unusual happening near the river that fatal weekend. People living in other areas of North West England or North Wales are also asked to pass on any information they may have about people trying to get rid of unwanted chemicals or waste.
“If this was a deliberate action, it is vital that we catch whoever was responsible. If you saw anything on the evening of Friday, 28th or Saturday morning 29th July, or if you suspect that someone known to you could have caused this pollution, please contact us at the Environment Agency on our 24 hour emergency hotline 0800 80 70 60. Calls will be treated in the strictest confidence. Even if the event seemed trivial at the time, it may be the final clue that provides the breakthrough that we are looking for.” Andrew Dixon continued.
