Environment Agency hopeful of concluding investigation into September’s Arrowe Country Park lake pollution

Jan 6 2010 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

THE Environment Agency (EA) hopes the New Year will bring an end to its investigation into a pollution incident that killed thousands of fish in a Wirral lake.

In September, anglers and other users of Arrowe Country Park were shocked to find vast quantities of fish floating on the surface – some dead, some gasping for air.

Oxygen pumps were swiftly installed to try to save those that remained, but in many cases the damage had already been done.

Investigations have since been ongoing and the EA says it has now identified the source of pollution and is attempting to track it back to the point of contamination.

A spokesperson said: “We are continuing to investigate the incident and cannot release further details until our investigation has been concluded, due to legal reasons.”

Rumours persist that the pollution was the result of actions by a contractor working in the area, and the EA says if investigators can find the individual, or individuals, and gather enough evidence over the next few weeks, a prosecution could follow in February.

Malcolm Gillies, chairman of the Association of Wirral Angling Clubs, told the News: “The EA is hopeful of a prosecution but what it really comes down to is if the person who did it says ‘ok, it was me boss’, which would obviously make their job a lot easier.”

Mr Gillies says he is unsurprised the investigation has taken so long, noting similar inquiries have taken between 12 and 18 months.

Since the incident, regular oxygen checks have been carried out at the lake by the EA, and both fish and anglers are slowly returning.

Malcolm said: “The EA have been very good and have been back to do regular checks.

“It’s down to one thing, if the person who did it owns up to it.

“It’s just a shame we lost a lot of fish and how and when we’ll get the fish back, I just don’t know.”

The EA spokesperson added: “We can assure the public that the source of the pollution was identified and stopped at the time of the incident.”