Dozens of dead fish have
Images have been released of a river in Bromley showing the water turning brown after a reported burst in a water main. While initial reports suggest there will be “no lasting impact” on the river, recent fish deaths from a pollution spill have raised concerns among residents at the start of July, 2026.
The discolouration is reportedly due to gravel and silt that have been disturbed after a large amount of water washed into the Ravensbourne River in Beckenham. Earlier this month, on Jul 3, there were reports of dozens of dead fish in the River Pool, a tributary of the River Ravensbourne, South-East London, within Cator Park.
One Bromley Councillor, Steven Jefferies, received reports that the Environment Agency (EA) were investigating the incident first reported on Monday, July 20, and that they had concluded that the primary effect of the burst main was “visual”, and that they do not believe that there will be a significant or lasting impact on the water quality.
MP for the area, Liam Conlon, released a statement on the incident after liaising with Thames Water and the EA. He said: “I am deeply concerned by images shared with me by residents which show extensive discolouration in the River Ravensbourne in Beckenham Place Park.
“In response to my enquiries, the Environment Agency have confirmed that their current understanding is that the discolouration was caused by a burst water main washing a large amount of water into the river. As the river was low, the water had disturbed the silt and gravel on the riverbed, causing discolouration.
“Thankfully, the Environment Agency have said that there is no evidence of pollution in the water, and there is no impact on drinking water. I have gone back to seek immediate reassurance that there is no impact on local wildlife either.”
MyLondon has been reporting on leaks in the Thames Water Network as part of our Waste Environmental Campaign, including a leak from a manhole that persisted for 4 years. The news also comes as Thames Water has just announced that London now has a hosepipe ban after no rain was recorded in the capital in July, aside from a small shower on July 5.
Images from the scene show that a large volume of water has been washed into the River Ravensbourne, causing the discolouration; however, at the time of writing, no official statistics have been released on the amount of water that was wasted.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We are sorry that a water main burst in Widmore Road, which led to drinking water entering the Ravensbourne. Our engineers were on site early yesterday morning and carried out tests at various locations, with no pollutants found.
“Our team have completed a temporary repair and we expect the water discolouration will improve over the next few days. We will also continue to take water quality readings.
“Thames Water is currently delivering the biggest upgrade to its network in 150 years. This record investment is being partly funded by an increase in customer bills and last week we announced we had completed replacing 100km of water mains over the past 16 months as part of this upgrade.
“Replacing ageing mains will help reduce bursts, save large amounts of water and mean less water needs to be taken from rivers or the ground. It will also reduce traffic disruption caused by ongoing repairs and maintenance, while improving network reliability for future generations with the new pipes having a lifespan of 100 years.”
