Fish are killed in pollution riddle (From Keighley News)

Fish are killed in pollution riddle

9:00am Friday 27th July 2012 in Keighley By Keighley News reporter

Thousands of fish died in Doe Park Reservoir at Denholme as a result of a pollution incident.

A team of Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water staff were called to the site this week after reports of dead and distressed fish at the 20-acre reservoir, which is used for sailing and canoeing.

Fisheries officers found roach, bream, perch and pike around the edges.

Bradford Council was forced to postpone an open day at its water activities centre at the reservoir planned for Tuesday. Activities were reorganised.

The open day will now take place on August 6. School and youth groups due to take part in activities this week were informed that kayaking and canoeing were now taking place on the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal instead and that alternative activities such as archery, cycling and climbing were being arranged through the Council’s sport and leisure adventure unit.

Pete Turner, fisheries officer at the Environment Agency, said ten barrels of hydrogen peroxide were pumped into the reservoir on Monday afternoon, which not only added oxygen to the water but helps to break down organic matter which can cause poor water quality. He said: “We’ve checked the gills of the distressed fish and they’re all slimy. This tells us that they’re being irritated by something in the water.”

But he said that the oxygen levels in the water were found to be good so they believed it was down to organic matter that had been washed in by the recent flooding.

A pump supplied by Yorkshire Water was used to stir the surface of the water.

A spokesman said the company was working with the Environment Agency to identify the pollutant and where it had come from. The reservoir is not used for drinking water but as a compensation reservoir to top up river levels.

Phil Barker, the Council’s assistant director for sport and leisure, said: “We are very sorry that we had to cancel the open day due to these unforeseen circumstances but we hope people will still come along and enjoy what the water activities centre has to offer on August 6. We have also done our best to reorganise all the activities that we had planned this week so that the groups booked in could still enjoy a fantastic week.

“We hope to be able to reopen Doe Park as soon as possible but are reliant on the Environment Agency's investigations.”