Anglesey river: Llangefni oil pollution investigated

An oil pollution incident on a section of the River Cefni on Anglesey is being investigated.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said oil absorbent booms had been placed in the river to prevent the pollution spreading further.

It was found downstream of Llangefni Industrial Estate at the end of last week.

NRW said the pollution was not currently affecting the nearby Cors Ddyga RSPB reserve.

It also said oil pollution and diesel odour remained downstream, and where the river flows alongside Lon Las Cefni.

Huw Jones, of NRW, said: "The pollution is not affecting the RSPB reserve and the sheen has dispersed by the time it reaches the A5 / A55 crossings.

"We are expecting an update from Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water on the extent of ground contamination under their pumping station which will indicate how long this incident will last.

"All pollution incidents are a matter of concern and we aim to deal with them as quickly as possible."

When asked by BBC Wales about the source of the leak, NRW said it was the pumping station. But in response to that Welsh Water said the source had not been confirmed.

The RSPB said it was monitoring the situation at Cors Ddyga wildlife reserve, downstream of the pollution, but had not yet seen any problems.

Welsh Water said it was alerted to the pollution last week and a team was sent to Llangefni sewage pumping station to investigate.

"A fuel leak from one of our generators on site was identified, immediately isolated and contained within the site, with no obvious means of escape to the watercourse identified," a spokesman said.

"We supported with further containment measures to minimise the potential impact to the river and surrounding environment, and a thorough clean-up of the site was carried out."

It said it was working with NRW to find the contamination source and it would remain on site until the matter was resolved.