| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Foghorn |
Oil pollution in pondHello,A neighbour has managed to deposit a quantity of heating oil (kerosene I believe), into our pond, via an old drain. Does anyone have any ideas about how to remove this oil? I'm tempted to just toss a match over my shoulder onto the surface of the water, while walking coolly away, in the best traditions of the action film. But there must be safer/more reliable methods? Mustn't there...? |
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| cab |
Re: Oil pollution in pondOdds are the match will just fizzle. Kerosene burns fantastically well, doesn't take instantly though.How big is this pond? Is it practical to skim most of it off? |
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| Foghorn |
It's about 5 yards by about 15 | ||
| cab |
Gosh, pretty big then. I don't know what the rules regarding reporting that kind of thing to the Environment Agency or the local water board would be.
If ots a few drops here and there on the surface, I'd leave it be. It'll degrade soon enough (kerosene is broken down by bacteria surprisingly fast). If its loads of it, a thicker layer on the surface, I'd be looking to skim off as much as I could. |
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| Brownbear |
I suggest you approach the berk who landed this on your plate, and give him the options of either getting a firm in to clean it up, or having you call the Environment Agency and watching them nail his head to a tree, and making him pay for the cleanup anyway. | ||
| mochyn |
I'm with BB although possibly beginning a little more diplomatically: depends how you get on with said neighbour, I suppose. |
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| gz |
I had this problem when I lived in Garn- oily runoff from a yard went into my pond and stream-from a neighbour- Water Board were out like a shot with practical help, Environment Agency needs to know too (0800 807060) | ||
| Behemoth |
They were out like a shot to make sure it wasn't a pollution incident from any of their drains or sewers. If it is clearly a private issue their interest will be limited but worth a call for the free advice. If the drain is theirs they'll have to clean up though from the way you've described it I don't think this is the case. | ||
| vegplot |
Re: Oil pollution in pond
The pillock shouldn't be dumping oil down the drain. Definitely a hanging offence and EA should be told about it. |
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| crofter |
Could be less than a litre of oil. But not easy to remove once it is spread out. |
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| JB |
Before you get too irate bear in mind the neighbour might not know they have spilled any oil. For example it could be a slow leaking tap dripping into a surface drain or a minor spill from their last fill, from their point of view it's just the same old tank that smells of oil just as it always has and one litre out of the tank is almost imperceptible. | ||
| Foghorn |
Thanks for the replies, folks - glad to get some moral support!
For info, the spillage is probably of the order of 10 - 100 litres, and it probably happened due to a leak, that the neighbour may not have known anything about. However, he is being a bit of an arse now by denying it had anything to do with him (a day after he had his oil tank repaired). Enivornment Agency were pretty uninterested, I guess because it occurred on private land. It may be worth doing some skimming to reduce the amount of pollution - any practical advice about how to do this (in the absence of a very large spoon...)? |
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| mochyn |
How about sheets of cardboard or layers of paper to soak it up? | ||
| Behemoth |
Does the pond have an overflow - raise the water level until the fule runs off? | ||
| Gervase |
Best to remove the oil sooner rather than later, as it will prevent the water being aerated which will not only kill off wildlife there, but also cause nasty blue-green algal blooms.
Use paper towels or old rags to get the worst off the surface so that some air can get through. |
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| crofter |
This is not a good idea. It will just move the oil somewhere else and you would then be responsible for causing pollution to the rest of the watercourse. Cleaning up oil properly is expensive and (I'm guessing) your neighbour is denying responsibility because he does not want to pay for this. Ideally you need a boom to contain the oil in a limited area and absorbent material to soak up the oil and/or large volume storage for oily water. You really need to contact a specialist company to do this properly, but if you just want to do as much as you can yourself what about those absorbent pads for "mopping up" small spills from workshop floors? http://www.absorbentsonline.com/oilonlypadsrolls.htm Kerosene is light oil and will disperse naturally reasonably quickly, especially if it is agitated by the wind. |
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| Behemoth |
Sorry, I'll rephrase, if possible do it in a controlled manner and don't be a pillock. A bucket or something and then down the dump for oil/fuel disposal. | ||
| crofter |
Although you could try a raindance! |
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| Foghorn |
The cavalry has arrived!
Scratch what I said earlier about the Environment Agency - apparently, their customer contact centre (why do they bother with these?) made a slight error when they said it was not really their business. Someone turned up and they are investigating the source of the spill as well as assessing the clean up operation. They will do it apparently, and charge us (or neighbours!). Nice to have some professional help with this. We went to sleep with the sound of dripping oil and awoke to the sound of enforcement powers being brandished! <Blows smoke off gun barrel emoticon> |