River Trent pollution kills fish, experts say

River water monitoring

River Trent pollution kills fish, experts say

15 Oct, 2009

Published over 16 years ago. See the latest and most current information on River water monitoring.

A stretch of the River Trent that was polluted with cyanide has had its fish stocks wiped out as a result of the incident, according to experts.

The BBC noted that investigations into the cause and source of the chemical leak, which was first discovered on October 6th near Stoke-on-Trent, are ongoing.

It said that the Environment Agency carried out a water quality survey along a 700m section of the river and found almost no evidence of living fish.

However, stocks of the animals located several miles downstream appear to be relatively unaffected by the incident, it noted.

According to the news provider, Severn Trent Water - which is the fourth largest privately-owned water company - said that the cyanide was released into sewers upstream from its sewage treatment plant in Stoke.

The BBC noted that the company was not linked to the chemical leak in any way.

Posted by Claire Manning

IET 36.2 Mar/Apr 2026

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