three tonnes of dead fish fished out of the Loing, emptying of the canal ordered

After the pollution of the Loing canal which caused the death of nearly three tonnes of fish in one week, the prefecture issued an order requesting the emptying of 13 kilometers of the canal. The operation began this Friday, November 1st.

Day by day, the toll gets worse. Since Saturday October 26, three tonnes of dead fish have now been recovered from the Loing canal. Carp, pike, catfish… Associations and public authorities have been facing a real ecological drama for almost a week.

Due to the scale of the phenomenon, the Seine-et-Marne prefecture issued two orders this Friday, November 1.

She thus ordered the establishment of a progressive emptying of four reaches, that is to say four sections of the canal between each lock. These are the reaches of Beaumoulin, Buttes, Bagneaux-sur-Loing and Chaintréauville, i.e. nearly 13 kilometers of canal to be drained.

With this first decree, the prefecture wants to empty the canal of its water in order to evacuate the pollutant responsible for the death of the fish and then to clean the canal. On Wednesday, analyzes carried out in Bagneux-sur-Loing also blamed organic pollution. They only report any toxic substances.

A second decree prohibits access to the banks of the canal in the municipalities of Château-Landon, Souppes-sur-Loing, Madeleine-sur-Loing and Bagneaux-sur-Loing. A measure that makes it easier to empty the canal.

Around twenty days to empty the canal

The emptying operation began this Friday morning. It will be very gradual: the prefecture announces a duration of 25 days to empty the Loing canal while the town hall of Bagneaux-sur-Loing estimates the duration of the operations at around twenty days.

A slow emptying which will ensure that polluted water from the canal does not flow into the river further downstream. Daily measurements will be taken in the river to ensure the purity of the water. Measurements will also take place every day on the canal side.

The latest readings, dating from this Friday morning, are still bad, reports the prefecture: they show a “very low” level of 0.3 mg of oxygen per cubic meter of water. The critical level is established at 3 mg, while the average is between 6 and 8 mg.

Firefighters and volunteers are still working around the canal to continue removing dead fish. They will continue to be mobilized throughout the emptying operation, in order to evacuate the dead fish which have not been brought to the surface as the canal empties.

An investigation was opened by the Fontainebleau public prosecutor's office in order to determine the precise origin of the pollution and to establish possible responsibilities. The municipality had already announced to BFM Paris Île-de-France its desire to file several complaints, as had local associations.