River 'emptied for 30 hours' after sluice gate opened

Villagers are concerned wildlife was put at risk after a river was “emptied for 30 hours” when one of the sluice gates at an empty factory was opened.

The incident on the River Cam happened on 9 June at the empty Sundeala site, near Dursley, Gloucestershire, and was reported to the Environment Agency.

Cam Community Action Group (CCAG) member, Jo Kendall, claims if residents had not intervened quickly, it could have resulted in an "environmental disaster".

A spokesperson for the site's administrator, Grant Thornton, said they "took swift action to resolve" the issue, and will continue to monitor the area.

Ms Kendall was walking her dog near the old railway bridge, based close to Draycott Business Park, when she noticed a "phenomenal" volume of water coming through.

She said it affected the water levels at Rackleaze nature reserve and that part of the river is "very sensitive and designated as a dark corridor for wildlife".

"Over the next 30 hours the river started to empty, putting wildlife at serious risk," she said.

"We took matters into our own hands and contacted the administrators of the site Grant Thornton together with the site security company.

"The administrators said someone would go to the site that afternoon to check it out and sort the issue."

The sluice gate closed on 11 June, with the river returning to normal levels.

“There is supposed to be an alarm on the sluice gates so if they are opened it goes off and alerts the security/monitoring agents – obviously something went wrong," Ms Kendall said.

“We don’t know how much damage has been done.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said they take all reports of environmental incidents seriously.

“Our officers have inspected the river to confirm that the level is normal for this time of year and that there are no wider environmental impacts,” they said.

“This sluice gate is not the responsibility of the Environment Agency but we have been in contact with those responsible for the site to make sure that there is no repeat of this incident."

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