Please help us to save our lake

11:15am Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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I AM writing to inform you of the tragic incident which occurred recently in our neighbourhood, in the hope that you will be able to help us avoid any repetition of this happening in the future.

The original designer of our housing estate, (Lakeside, Brierley Hill) made the decision to include a balance pool to avoid any flooding issues, which was obviously a necessity. However, over the years the pool has become a beautifully established lake which is a haven for a wide variety of wildlife, including geese, ducks, swans, fish and newts, not to mention a heron who regularly appears in the evenings.

Unfortunately, this habitat has been seriously damaged during the last month, due to oil/diesel being emptied into the lake via the drainage grates. Regrettably this has caused a huge loss of life including newts, fish, moorhens, swans and most of the newborn signets. The 23-year-old cob who has always lived on the lake remains ill, even after treatment from the swan sanctuary.

This is not the first time this has happened during the seven years I have lived here, and I am sure it sadly won't be the last, but I am sure it is an avoidable situation with your support.

Many of the residents are totally unaware that everything that goes down the storm drains goes straight into the lake, untreated and therefore are oblivious to the consequences. As a concerned resident and animal lover I feel I need to raise awareness of this situation.

I am unsure who holds responsibility for this area of land, but I have written to everyone I think could help with this problem. I felt the need to share this issue, in the hope that any new residents to the area who are unaware of this fact, or anyone contracted to carry out work on the estate, will hopefully avoid any further loss of life, by disposing of materials in a responsible manner.

As a neighbourhood we feel really protective of our lake, it is the namesake of our estate and gives hours of pleasure to all its visitors. Please help us to ensure it remains a safe environmental habitat for all our wildlife.

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