I
Ian Cloke
Guest
Anglers have vowed to fight plans to pump thousands of cubic metres of sewage into popular fishing rivers.
Around 30,000 cubic metres of effluent would be poured into Sussex rivers daily to combat the effects of drought.
Singapore-based company Newater wants to pipe sewage from Newhaven Wastewater Treatment Works across countryside to the River Ouse, near Isfield, and the Cuckmere River at Lower Horsebridge.
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It has applied to pump 15,000 cubic metres of treated effluent a day to each of the rivers.
Geoff Begley, of Southdown Angling Association which uses the Cuckmere, said: "We would be very concerned about it and want reassurance that it is going to be done in a way that is safe and will not harm the fish.
"I am all for increasing the flow of the river but would want to know if the treated sewage would contain damaging nutrients.
"They say it is being done because of the drought but we haven't got a drought anymore - all the reservoirs are full."
He said water levels on the Cuckmere at Horsebridge were three times their normal amount.
Jim Glasspool, chairman of the Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust, said: "We support the principle of recycling water but these proposals are totally inappropriate."
Some fishermen believe the water would contain dangerous levels of the sex-change chemical oestrogen, higher phosphate levels which damage insect life, increased amounts of ammonia and a lack of oxygen due to the warmth of the discharge.
The Environment Agency will decide whether to approve the plans and is running a public consultation.
It said the application was for an indefinite time but, if approved, it would be regulated.
An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: "We are currently assessing these applications to determine what effect they may have on the rivers, and where relevant, groundwater.
"If granted, the consents to discharge will contain conditions that protect river and groundwater quality.
"We will only grant consent if we are satisfied that the required conditions can be met."
Treated sewage is currently pumped from sewage works into the sea and estuaries.
Sometimes it is abstracted for the public water supply but is diluted enough to minimise any health risks.
Newater wants to boost river flows, slowed down by recent droughts, to increase water supply.
Richard Jukes, of Newater, said water would receive additional treatment before being put into the rivers.
He said: "There is a water shortage problem, particularly in the South-East.
"We want to investigate recycling water to a high standard to increase the flow of water."
The company has also applied to pump waste into the Test and Itchen rivers in Hampshire, the Eastern Yar and Medina on the Isle of Wight and the Dudwell, Medway, Nailbourne and Spiders Castle Dyke in Kent.
Around 30,000 cubic metres of effluent would be poured into Sussex rivers daily to combat the effects of drought.
Singapore-based company Newater wants to pipe sewage from Newhaven Wastewater Treatment Works across countryside to the River Ouse, near Isfield, and the Cuckmere River at Lower Horsebridge.
advertisement
It has applied to pump 15,000 cubic metres of treated effluent a day to each of the rivers.
Geoff Begley, of Southdown Angling Association which uses the Cuckmere, said: "We would be very concerned about it and want reassurance that it is going to be done in a way that is safe and will not harm the fish.
"I am all for increasing the flow of the river but would want to know if the treated sewage would contain damaging nutrients.
"They say it is being done because of the drought but we haven't got a drought anymore - all the reservoirs are full."
He said water levels on the Cuckmere at Horsebridge were three times their normal amount.
Jim Glasspool, chairman of the Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust, said: "We support the principle of recycling water but these proposals are totally inappropriate."
Some fishermen believe the water would contain dangerous levels of the sex-change chemical oestrogen, higher phosphate levels which damage insect life, increased amounts of ammonia and a lack of oxygen due to the warmth of the discharge.
The Environment Agency will decide whether to approve the plans and is running a public consultation.
It said the application was for an indefinite time but, if approved, it would be regulated.
An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: "We are currently assessing these applications to determine what effect they may have on the rivers, and where relevant, groundwater.
"If granted, the consents to discharge will contain conditions that protect river and groundwater quality.
"We will only grant consent if we are satisfied that the required conditions can be met."
Treated sewage is currently pumped from sewage works into the sea and estuaries.
Sometimes it is abstracted for the public water supply but is diluted enough to minimise any health risks.
Newater wants to boost river flows, slowed down by recent droughts, to increase water supply.
Richard Jukes, of Newater, said water would receive additional treatment before being put into the rivers.
He said: "There is a water shortage problem, particularly in the South-East.
"We want to investigate recycling water to a high standard to increase the flow of water."
The company has also applied to pump waste into the Test and Itchen rivers in Hampshire, the Eastern Yar and Medina on the Isle of Wight and the Dudwell, Medway, Nailbourne and Spiders Castle Dyke in Kent.