Wildlife suffering because of drought

The continuing drought in England and Wales is killing wildfowl and fish, causing toxic algal blooms and reducing rivers to trickles, the Environment Agency has warned.

At more than 100 sites across England and Wales over the past two months, the Environment Agency reported that low water and oxygen levels had caused fish to gasp for air, turned ponds green and stranded several types of insects that live in water, as rivers dry up.

In other cases, the agency said, rivers were silting up because of low flows, trees were shedding their leaves earlier than normal and dry wetlands were causing problems for breeding waders who use the wetlands for food sources.

The agency has released a map showing the full impact the drought is having on the environment, particularly in the south east of England, which is still facing possibly the most serious drought of the past 100 years.

Dr David King, Director of Water Management at the Environment Agency, said that after two dry winters and the more recent hot, dry summer weather, the environmental impacts of the drought were becoming more apparent. He said: "This drought is not only affecting people in the way we use water - we've now seen 21 months of below-average rain and the environment is suffering too. We're seeing ponds and rivers drying up, fish becoming stranded and algal blooms.

"At first we couldn't see the impact of the drought around us, as the real problems were low groundwater levels in the south east. But the continued lack of rainfall, low water levels and recent high temperatures have put pressure on the environment right across England and Wales."

Over the past two months, the Environment Agency said that thousands of dead fish, including carp and salmon, had been found across England and Wales.

More than 400 fish died in the River Idle in Mattersey, west of Sheffield and 1,000 dead small fish were found in the Counter Drain in Welney, north of Cambridge.

Outbreaks of botulism, which is only harmful to wildfowl, were found on the Bear Brook near Aylesbury and Hook Marsh lake in Waltham Abbey, north London, resulting in the death of at least ten ducks.

Aerators were being installed in some rivers, lakes and ponds to help increase oxygen levels and reduce the toxicity of algal blooms.

Low flows in the Thames had also resulted in sea water flowing further up the river than normal, causing problems for freshwater wildlife.

Dr King said: "We're all aware of the seriousness of this drought, especially in the south east where almost 13 million are affected by water restrictions. But if we get a third dry winter in the south east and the dry conditions continue across the rest of England and Wales, we're going to see our environment suffer even more."

(KMcA)