River Medway Pollution

[oldgit]

Recent report.
Wonder if the caffine is coming from the exponential number of livaboards on the river.
River tests show dangerous levels of toxic chemicals

 

[RivalRedwing]

If all these measurements are from the tidal Medway then the interplay between the tidal waters of the Medway and Thames needs to be factored in - I don't believe the water 'automatically' goes back in to the estuary that it came from when it gets beyond Sheerness. Above Allington Lock the situation is more clear cut.

 

[Concerto]

Funny how boat owners were not mentioned with antifouling paint killing plants and animals as well.

My personal comment having sailed on the tidal Medway since 1965 is that it used to be a dead river back then, but not now. The last commerial fisherman on the Medway/Thames in 1966 left for Scotland because he could not make a living. Today there are a number of commercial boats, so there must be more fish today. Salmon have even been sighted in London. The number of seals in the Medway and along the Kent and Essex coasts has risen substantially, again meaning there must be plenty of fish for them to feed on.

The equipment used for testing water today is far more able to find traces of chemicals than half a century ago (if they even tested then). The mention of sewage discharges does not even mention the hundreds of houseboats on the river discharging into the river on a daily basis. Historical industrial polution cannot be stopped in the short term, but to use the river for so many discharges is just so wrong.

 

[xyachtdave]

The water looks much worse this year than I’ve ever seen it.

More and more houses plugged into the same creaking infrastructure along with a lack of investment from the utility companies is a problem.

The house boats at Hoo, have a look at the scummy froth when the tide is rising exiting the marina.

You wouldn’t want a mouthful of that that’s for sure.

 

[oldgit]

Funny how boat owners were not mentioned with antifouling paint killing plants and animals as well.

My personal comment having sailed on the tidal Medway since 1965 is that it used to be a dead river back then, but not now. The last commerial fisherman on the Medway/Thames in 1966 left for Scotland because he could not make a living. Today there are a number of commercial boats, so there must be more fish today. Salmon have even been sighted in London. The number of seals in the Medway and along the Kent and Essex coasts has risen substantially, again meaning there must be plenty of fish for them to feed on.

The equipment used for testing water today is far more able to find traces of chemicals than half a century ago (if they even tested then). The mention of sewage discharges does not even mention the hundreds of houseboats on the river discharging into the river on a daily basis. Historical industrial polution cannot be stopped in the short term, but to use the river for so many discharges is just so wrong.

Can remember Porpoises ? being pointed out in Long Reach during 1950s and 1960s.

Sizable sea trout 3 lb caught by a fisherman literally outside the Malta Inn just above Allington Lock recently according to lock staff.
Rumours of Otters as well.

The type of pollutants has changed ?
In previous life used to tow lighters loaded with paper pulp discharged from Scandinavian ships in Chatham up to paper mills at Snodland and New Hythe. Cresent Shipping had 2 x small 80 ton lighters specifically designed to carry virgin craft pulp up through Allington Lock to the mill at Tovil, believe it was mixed with Marron Grass to produce the high quality very durable paper required to print bank notes.
Naughty editions of "Playboy" were frequently sent to Snodland to be pulped an onerous job nobody wanted .
The river was dead all along this stretch due to the nasties left over from producing the pulp being pumped directly in the river.
The river bank from the LW mark to the bottom of the sea wall was devoid of any vegetation with the river surface frequently covered with layer of brown foamy scum especially near any of the paper mill sewer outlets.
The first signs of any recognition of any problem was when Smurfit Kappa, a company subject to EU water quality rules bought out the UK company who previously owned the Snodland site and a lot of money was spent on a decontamination water clean up plant to improve quality of water put back into the river.
Shortly afterwards several other companies notorious for using the Medway as an open sewer went into decline and for better or worse either went bankrupt or moved elsewhere.
Akzo Nobel at Gillingham were also in the frame not that long ago.
Recall that when the Gas Works at Rochester was dismantled a layer of some sort of biological goo was put down before the top soil was replaced. however the whiff of coal gas and a watery rainbow of leaking contaminates remained for years afterwards.
The river at Maidstone also used to suffer from this .
The stretch of river from Rochester to Maidstone has seen a noticable increase in all types of vegetation and apart from the odd dead sheep and quantities of neatly sawn chunks of tree trunk is in much better state there days.
A the recent ROFF meeting large areas of the Medway have been reserved as nurseries for Bass and permission has been granted for the harvesting of Oysters in the river.
Recently watched a seal devouring a very impressive sized Bass from the RCC moorings.
Despite sustained effort have yet to catch a single one .