17/08/2005 - Environment
Agency staff are investigating how sewage
ended up in a stream at Hickstead, West Sussex
on Sunday 14 August 2005.
A member of public who saw dead fish in the
stream called the Environment Agency to raise
the alarm. Environment Officers attended and
immediately started a clean-up operation and
investigation into the incident.
Investigations showed that sewage was discharging
from an overflow at Southern Water’s Malthouse
Lane Pumping Station. The Environment Agency
alerted the company who attended and stopped
the discharge.
There are around 200 dead fish in the stream,
and water samples have been taken to establish
the cause. The stream has been affected from
Malthouse Lane Pumping Station to Twineham,
West Sussex
Steven Usher, Environment Officer, said:
"Unfortunately it looks like a large
number of fish have been killed in this stream.
The low water flows we are experiencing at
the moment mean that any sewage in the stream
may take a long time to wash through.
"Sewage entering a river or stream can
have a devastating effect on the wildlife
living there. Nutrients in the sewage can
break down and use up oxygen in the water,
making it hard for fish to breathe. We take
incidents like this extremely seriously and
are launching a full and thorough investigation
to establish exactly how sewage entered this
stream and if this is what has killed these
fish."
