Massive fish death first in Roeselare, now in Ypres
Heavy rains have led to the death of thousands of fish in the Ieperlee and Roeselare canals over the last week as fertilisers and sewage washed into the water
Lack of oxygen
The cause is thought to be pollution caused by heavy rains last week, which washed fertiliser from the land along the canal into the water, said Kristof Louagie of the Ypres fire service. The fish died as a result of a lack of oxygen. Raw sewage from sewers unable to cope with the sudden increased water flow is also thought to have contributed.
“The distance is too great for us to be able to pump oxygen into the water, so we have to settle for removing the dead fish from the water,” Louagie said. Flemish environment agency VMM said the numbers of fish in the canal would recover quickly. Samples of the water have been taken, as well as some of the 500 kilograms of dead fish to determine the exact cause.
The incident in Ypres was a repeat of Saturday in Roeselare, also in West Flanders, when several thousand dead fish had to be removed from the Roeselare-Leie canal by fire and civil defence services. Severe weather was also the cause there.
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