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Dear Barry,
Enquiry regarding: Major fish kill – The Avon - Barford, Warwickshire
Thank you for your enquiry which was received on 14 June.
We have logged your enquiry under reference GE24452
Warmer water naturally carries less oxygen, which combined with low flows during prolonged dry weather makes rivers less resilient to pollution. Intense summer rainstorms, such as those that occurred over the weekend of 10 and 11 July 2023, will inevitably wash unknown pollutants from surface water, agricultural land, road drains and diluted sewage from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) into watercourses. Once in a watercourse, this material will further deplete the water of oxygen, and can lead to serious fish mortalities. In locations where watercourses are already vulnerable because of elevated water temperatures and lower flows, these impacts can be amplified and this has resulted in numerous fish deaths in rivers and canals across the West Midlands, including the River Avon and its tributaries. Our teams have been monitoring the watercourses and our Fisheries Officers are providing remediation advice to fishery owners.
We are still examining the impact on fish stocks, but an early estimate is that approximately 30km of the River Avon was affected, from Newbold-on-Avon to Alveston. Once investigations are complete, we will use the evidence we have gathered to consider what, if any, restocking should take place to boost natural recovery of the fish populations.
Following our initial investigation, 35,000 chub, dace, bream, roach, and barbel have already been restocked at Wasperton on 27 June and Barford on 29 June. Due to the natural lifecycles and growth rates of these fish in both the farm and the wild, full recovery of the affected stretches will take many years.
There have been concerns regarding foam build-up at Barford Weir. Our initial review is that this is likely to be a result of the unknown pollutants being washed into watercourses during heavy rainfall as described above. We believe that the combination of factors as noted above are the likely cause of fish mortality, but should any review of data point to a specific point source or activity, we will carry out further investigations and take the appropriate regulatory action.
We are committed to the protection of fish stocks and fisheries and request that if there are any further observations of distressed or dead fish, these should be reported to our hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
If you have any further queries please feel free to contact us at enquiries_westmids@environment-agency.gov.uk
Kind Regards
Matthew Weston BA (Hons)
Customer & Engagement Officer
Customer & Engagement Team
West Midlands Area
Team phone number: 020 847 47856
Environment Agency, 9 Wellington Crescent, Fradley Park, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 8RR
Posted on July 10, 2023 at 7:56 AM
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