Life returns to the Wandle

I reported last November on Thames Water's accidental release of chemicals into the River Wandle that wiped out wildlife for hundreds of metres downstream.

I'm pleased to report that after coughing up 500,000 - the least Thames Water could do to make up for their debacle - signs of life are returning to the river. Trout have been spotted in the affected area, which is great news.

While I don't want to sound like some latter day Huckleberry Finn, I grew up alongside the Wandle and I think London's minor rivers are among the capital's greatest treasures. So many of them have either dried up or been paved over as the city expanded and grew that it's really important to cherish the rivers that run through our urban, built-up environment.

That's why the return of wildlife to the river, alongside more active efforts to return the area's indigenous creatures like water voles - which I've also blogged about - is news to be celebrated.

Thames Water pollute the Wandle

On September 17th, Thames Water accidentally discharged industrial bleach into the River Wandle from their sewage treatment works in Beddington.

As a result, it's estimated that over 2,000 fish died between the plant and Morden - though we can take limited comfort that Thames Water believes that the bleach had so dissipated further downstream that there has been little to no effect on the Southfields stretch of the river, which is of course part of our constituency.

This is just the latest in a catalogue of mishaps and poor service from Thames Water; which includes:

• The discharge of raw sewage straight into the Thames whenever it rains heavily
• The lamentable waste of water through pipe leaks while at the same time the company charges us ever more and lectures us about saving water;
• The poor standard of water quality revealed in the Thames report (which I covered here) and
• Reducing mains water pressure which forced residents living in blocks at the top of Putney Hill to shell out for additional pumping equipment in order to maintain their service

While Thames Water have funded the cleanup and are better monitoring their Beddington sewage plant, it's becoming clear to me that the diffuse regulatory regime governing this company (with responsibility split between the Environment Agency and Ofwat principally) is allowing this company to get away with, quite literally, murder (or at least manslaughter - of Wandle wildlife).

Voles for the Wandle

The River Wandle and Beverley Brook form, respectively, large parts of the boundary of the Putney constituency: the Wandle separating Southfields from Wandsworth, Earlsfield and Tooting; and Beverley Brook Putney from Richmond Park, East Sheen and Barnes. They are also hidden from public view - and perhaps therefore overlooked - for much of their length - either being routed under development like the Arndale or just difficult to access.

The London Wildlife Trust (LWT) has just announced plans to reintroduce Water Voles, which once were a substantial part of the Wandle's character, following a successful project in nearby Watermeads Island in Mitcham earlier this year. The Water Vole is one of Britain's fastest declining mammals, partly due to human encroachment on their habitat but also because Mink have been hunting them. Shockingly, there is now only one water vole for every 20 that existed just 80 years ago.

The last Wandle Vole was spotted in the 1960s but flood protection work in the 1970s is thought to have ensured their demise. This project, which I fully support, should also see other forms of wildlife cultivated, including dragonflies and Irises, and lead to an even more diverse, interesting and beautiful Wandle.

You can find out more about this and other London Wildlife Trust projects (as well as taking their quiz to find out what London Animal you most closely resemble!) by clicking here and you can visit the River Wandle - which exits into the Thames in Wandsworth town just past Point Pleasant - at a number of spots but especially from King George's Park in Southfields.