10,000 dead fish found at reservoir intake

6:48pm Thursday 12th November 2009

 

MORE than 10,000 dead fish, mostly perch, have been found at the intake to Farmoor Reservoir, near Oxford.

They were found at the reservoir’s water intake on the River Thames.

The discovery was reported to the Environment Agency today.

The reservoir is operated by Thames Water.

Environment Agency manager Mark Ormrod said: “We were alerted to this incident by Thames Water after it found a number of dead fish in the intake.

“Officers have been deployed to the scene to investigate.

“While we are uncertain what has caused the death of these fish at this stage, we are experienced in dealing with this type of incident and are mitigating any impacts where we can.”

Thames water spokesman Amy Dutton said: “We are assisting the Environment Agency with its inquiries. We would like to assure customers that this incident poses no risk to the drinking water supply.

“Water taken from the river does not directly enter the water treatment works. As a precautionary measure the intake has been closed following advice from the Environment Agency.”

George Barker, of the Oxford Schools Sail Training Centre at Farmoor, said the discovery of the dead fish would not affect sailing at the reservoir.