Fish dead in Danestream, Milford, after Southern Water sewage discharge which closed beach

HUNDREDS of fish and river creatures lie dead in a Forest waterway today after a suspected sewage discharge.

It is believed the Southern Water plant in Lower Ashley Road discharged “very strong” greywater into the Danestream late last week, killing fish and invertebrates.

Following Environment Agency warnings about a “pollution incident”, NFDC advised people on Friday not to swim in the sea off Milford – although it is understood Danestream discharges into Mount Lake at the coast near Keyhaven.

Environment Agency staff were seen on the Forest over the weekend using pumps to aerate the Danestream and collect dead fish and river creatures between Sturt Pond and Mill Meadow.

Fishers and conservation volunteers who regularly visit the river have described seeing trout and eels floating belly up in scenes that made one local “feel sick”.

He told the A&T: “It’s quite unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Another reader told the A&T: “I was walking back from the beach down Sea Road in Milford where the stream passes under the road.

“There was an emergency vehicle parked over the stream where a pump had been installed to aerate the water (with) the operator explaining he had seen over 300 dead fish, along with eels which survive the harshest conditions.

“I know there were brown trout in the stream. I saw many dead fish on the floor of the stream – a local disaster.”

Former Environment Agency water quality officer David Horne, who also chairs the Milford Conservation Volunteers, said a lack of rainfall in recent weeks has made the situation worse.

“The greywater that’s coming out of the station in Ashley is concentrated and, because there’s been no rainfall, it’s strong sewage.

“NFDC is advising people not to swim at Milford but the Danestream is entering the sea from the east side of Hurst Beach, where I often see young children crabbing.”

Mr Horne said he has not seen an incident like this on the Forest since the 1990s. He added that water companies are obliged to restock rivers with fish following such incidents.

“Unfortunately, this will take an awfully long time to clear,” Mr Horne told the A&T. “I would say seven eighths of the river’s wildlife has been wiped out in this incident.

“Repopulating the river is not like restocking a reservoir; the Danestream had a population of fish that developed over hundreds of years.

“Water companies or the Environment Agency may bring in pumps to aerate the water, but all the invertebrates in the river are now dead, so the eels won’t have much food for the next year or two.”

Mr Horne added that he hopes it will rain soon to help flush the greywater out of the river, adding: “The Danestream will take a very long time to recover from this.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We were notified about a serious pollution spill into Danestream on Thursday evening.

“We have advised our partners and posted information to the Swimfo website.

“Our investigations into the cause of the spill are continuing and we’d urge anyone who spots pollution to phone our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”

The Swimfo website currently lists the swimming water quality at Milford as “excellent” giving it a full three-star rating. The website gives no information about the quality of the water at Keyhaven and gives no indication there was a recent pollution incident on the Forest.

NFDC’s spokesperson for community, safety and wellbeing, Cllr Dan Poole, said: “While we are not the regulatory authority, we worked with the Environment Agency to raise public awareness of this issue (the pollution incident).

“The Environment Agency has informed us this morning (Monday) that the signs can be removed at Milford on Sea and Keyhaven and their website has been updated.

“We share the concerns over the potential impact this incident may have on our unique local environment, and we understand the importance of our coastline, especially during the summer holidays and with the current favourable weather.

“We will be asking Southern Water for their assurances that there will not be a repeat of this issue and that they are planning measures to address what weaknesses in the system caused this to occur.”

The A&T has approached Southern Water, and Milford Parish Council for comment.