An oil spill from a storage tank at a bus depot has severely polluted the Wandle chalk stream in south London, threatening decades of restoration efforts. MP Bobby Dean highlighted the potential lasting damage to local wildlife and criticized the lack of governmental response. The Environment Agency has intervened to mitigate the spill's impact and is investigating the source. Chalk streams are intricate ecosystems that have faced industrial pollution, and while they have made a recovery, incidents like this pose substantial risks to their ongoing rehabilitation.
The impact of the environmental disaster will be measured in years... this should never have happened. Those responsible must pay.
The Wandle, which flows for nine miles from its source to the Thames, became heavily industrialised from the 17th to 19th centuries, suffering from severe pollution.
For many years the waterway was considered 'ecologically dead,' but considerable efforts have been made to clean up the river and it is now a popular walking trail.
Chalk streams are a globally rare habitat... that face a range of threats including climate change, habitat destruction, and pollution.
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