Thousands of dead fish found in the River Soar at Leicester

There was a worrying story in the Leicester Mercury on Saturday:

Thousands of dead fish have been found in the River Soar this week, leaving the river's ecosystem in 'crisis', a environmental group has claimed. UOCEAN's Leicester branch has put out a warning over the long-term health of the River Soar, with oxygen levels plummeting as temperatures have risen in the past week.

According to the group, oxygen levels are now in the single digits, going down to seven per cent from the usual 40 per cent. The group, which has been working hard to remove tonnes of plastic waste from the River Soar over the past seven years, is disheartened at their findings, and suggests the long-term health of the river could be at risk.

Chris Desai , Global Project Director of the UOCEAN 2050 project established by The Vayyu Foundation, expressed deep concern over the findings: "The conditions we observed in the River Soar are truly distressing.

"The plummeting oxygen levels have resulted in devastating consequences for the local fish population. Moreover, the significant rise in plastic pollution exacerbates the situation, posing a long-term threat to the ecological health of the river."

The Mercury also quotes a Canal & River Trust statement on the national situation:

In summer, oxygen levels in the water normally reduce due to the increase in temperature, but the heavy storms experienced across the country have made things worse.

The storms have significantly reduced the oxygen levels, and exacerbated things further by causing silt-laden surface water run-off to enter the waterways, as well as overspills from water treatment plants.

But what are the water companies doing to reduce these overspills from 'water treatment plants', as they are now euphemistically called?