THOUSANDS of fish washed up dead in Frome last week after slurry from a nearby farm leaked into the river, suffocating huge numbers of native fish in a stretch of water over a mile long in the town centre.
The Environment Agency has confirmed that a slurry spill at a farm caused the death of thousands of fish in the River Frome by fatally diminishing oxygen levels on Thursday and Friday last week.
Witnesses reported seeing fish gasping for air and washing up dead along the river between Welshmill Road and Warminster Road.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said, “Heavy rainfall at the start of the week caused a local farm’s slurry store to overtop and run into the river. The pollution entered the River Frome late Thursday, replacing oxygen levels with ammonia over a 2km stretch through the town centre. It was pretty toxic and hundreds of major fish species were killed, as well as thousands of minor species.
“The situation improved on Friday. Oxygen levels rose back to 70% and ammonia levels dropped, thanks to the work of staff spraying hydrogen peroxide into the affected areas on Thursday night.
“Officers were at the scene last week taking steps to prevent this happening again.
“We urge anyone who sees dead or dying fish in rivers to report it to our incident hotline: 0800 80 70 60.”
The spokesperson said they were not aware of any similar incidents in Frome’s recent history. The authority said it was confident the pollution was accidental, so would not name the farm involved.
