Pollution levels over 100 times the safe limit have been discovered in the River Cam as the ongoing heatwave suffocates rivers.
A local sewage plant is being blamed for a spike in the level of phosphates in the 40-mile chalk stream, as Anglian Water said it had switched off technology designed to filter out the nutrient, citing difficulties transporting the necessary chemicals.
The problem is exacerbated by the ongoing hot weather, as high temperatures encourage the growth of algae, which lowers the level of oxygen in a river.
Shorts
“We’re seeing lots of… tiny little fish that are dead already, and that’s almost certainly because there’s not enough oxygen to sustain them,” said Bill Allum of the Newport River Group, which measures levels of pollution in the river.
