Restoring Nelson's River
Thames Water has agreed to spend £500,000 on restoring and improving the River Wandle over the next 5 years, after the company admitted responsibility for killing thousands of fish when bleach leaked in to the river in September.
The Anglers’ Conservation Association that led the negotiations with Thames Water, says it is the biggest settlement in the ASA’s history.
The Wandle, that today flows through an urban landscape in south London, is a historic chalk stream where Admiral Lord Nelson once fished and where Frederic Halford perfected the art of fishing with a dry fly.
The funding has been apportioned in the following way:
• £7,000 project funding for a local education project;
• £10,000 in compensation for the two angling clubs;
• £30,000 to meet the costs of restocking and an ongoing survey to assess damage to the river’s ecology;
• £200,000 core funding for the Wandle Trust to include support for the cost of an employee who will raise additional project funding to deliver access and habitat improvements along the length of the river;
• £250,000 over 5 years for a restoration fund to support local projects to improve the river environment;
• Investment in failsafe measures at Beddington Sewage Treatment works to prevent pollution like this happening again in the future;
The ASA says the announcement will have no bearing on any future criminal prosecution of Thames Water by the Environment Agency for the incident.
Theo Pike (yes this really is his name), Trustee of the Wandle Trust and Senior Vice President of the Wandle Piscators said: “September 17 was a catastrophe for the Wandle, but we are now delighted to be entering into this 5-year habitat rehabilitation project with Thames Water and the Environment Agency. “
Nothing can bring back the lost fish but the agreement should mean that the river’s restoration has suffered a setback rather than a disastrous reversal. Moreover it underpins an important corporate commitment to river health and a new sense of partnership that looks promising for the future.
Corporate responsibility and river pollution.
The Anglers’ Conservation Association that led the negotiations with Thames Water, says it is the biggest settlement in the ASA’s history.
The Wandle, that today flows through an urban landscape in south London, is a historic chalk stream where Admiral Lord Nelson once fished and where Frederic Halford perfected the art of fishing with a dry fly.
The funding has been apportioned in the following way:
• £7,000 project funding for a local education project;
• £10,000 in compensation for the two angling clubs;
• £30,000 to meet the costs of restocking and an ongoing survey to assess damage to the river’s ecology;
• £200,000 core funding for the Wandle Trust to include support for the cost of an employee who will raise additional project funding to deliver access and habitat improvements along the length of the river;
• £250,000 over 5 years for a restoration fund to support local projects to improve the river environment;
• Investment in failsafe measures at Beddington Sewage Treatment works to prevent pollution like this happening again in the future;
The ASA says the announcement will have no bearing on any future criminal prosecution of Thames Water by the Environment Agency for the incident.
Theo Pike (yes this really is his name), Trustee of the Wandle Trust and Senior Vice President of the Wandle Piscators said: “September 17 was a catastrophe for the Wandle, but we are now delighted to be entering into this 5-year habitat rehabilitation project with Thames Water and the Environment Agency. “
Nothing can bring back the lost fish but the agreement should mean that the river’s restoration has suffered a setback rather than a disastrous reversal. Moreover it underpins an important corporate commitment to river health and a new sense of partnership that looks promising for the future.
Corporate responsibility and river pollution.
Labels: Anglers' Conservation Association, Environment Agency, Frederic Halford, Nelson, River Wandle, Thames water, Theo Pike, Wandle Piscators, Wandle Trust
posted by Richard Donkin at
7:31 PM
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