Oil spill in Birmingham damages water quality

Water quality at one of Birmingham's beauty spots, Witton Lakes, has been compromised and birds living in the area have been put at risk by an oil spill.

The Environment Agency and the RSPB were called to the incident after a barrel of oil was dumped at the site on February 1st.

Dr Stefan Bodnar, biodiversity officer at Birmingham City Council, said: "It was a serious situation but we managed to contain it and stop it from becoming really nasty."

He explained that hundreds of birds flock to the lake in winter and this could have had a serious impact on the local populations.

Emily Poyser from the Environment Agency told the Birmingham Mail that the organisation will investigate and prosecute those responsible.

She added that the oil appeared to have been dumped upstream and noted that there was also contamination on land.

According to the Environment Agency, oil and fuels are the most commonly reported types of pollution in Britain's inland waters.

More than 5,000 incidents involving these pollutants occur on an annual basis, the organisation revealed.

Posted by Joseph Hutton