River Frome tributary turns bright blue in suspected ‘pollution incident’
This is an amazing and scary story which raises the question as to whether our regulatory bodies, be it in tackling crime in general or the specific crime of pollution are any longer sufficiently well funded to keep us safe in rural areas. It tells us:
The government is monitoring a river in Somerset after it turned a bright, electric blue.
The Environment Agency said the drastic colour change affecting a tributary of the River Frome was a “pollution incident”.
There are no reports of wildlife in distress or dead, a spokesperson for the agency’s southwest contingent said on Friday.
Government experts will continue to monitor the stream over the weekend and samples have been taken for testing.
Residents have previously feared for the state of the river.
The mysterious event creates something of a pattern in Somerset, after thousands of dead fish washed up in the River Sheppey one week earlier.
A pollution spill was blamed for the deaths of around 6,000 trout, bullheads and other species.
The Environment Agency sprayed the river with hydrogen peroxide in order to boost oxygen levels in the water.