More than 100,000 fish have died in the River Nene at Peterborough. And sewage has been ruled out as the cause. An urgent investigation continues to find out the source of contamination that has caused the death the fish in the streams entering Nene Park, Peterborough.
An Environment Agency spokesperson told CambsNews: “Environment Agency officers are on site monitoring the situation and investigating the nature and the source of the substance that has polluted the river.
“We ask that people stay away from the area until further notice, and dog walkers do not allow their dogs to enter the water.
Peterborough: Environmental catastrophe as thousands of fish die
“We encourage members of the public to report environmental incidents to us on our free 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.”
The spokesperson said they estimate there are over 100,000 dead fish in the River Nene.
“We are fast-tracking samples through our lab to establish what the polluting substance in the river is”, said the spokesperson.
“We have contractors on standby to clear up, once we know what the substance is.”
The spokesperson added: “Anglian Water officers have been assisting us by checking surface water drains. We have no reason to believe this is a sewage pollution incident.”
Nene Park officials meanwhile have urged visitors to keep dogs out of the water to avoid them coming into contact with polluted water.