An investigation is underway after oil polluted a beck in Elvington, York.
The problem has been going on since January but the perpetrator has not been found, says according to York councillor Christian Vassie.
He took these pictures of the oil in the beck on Friday. The beck runs close to the village primary school.
Cllr Vassie, the Lib Dem member for Wheldrake, said he could “smell it all the way from the school down to the snicket behind the church”.
He has raised the problem with council officials “right up to director level”.
“The flood risk manager is now engaged with this and talking with the Environment Agency,” he said.
“I understand the EA believe the oil is entering the water supply from somewhere on the industrial estate. They are working to establish the precise source.
“I have drawn everyone’s attention to the stink, the potential negative impact on human health, the proximity to this oil to homes and the primary school.
“I have also explained that there is not only the harm to biodiversity in the beck but also the potential impact on the Lower Derwent Valley nature reserve, an internationally significant site that hosts up to 40,000 birds on flood plains over the winter months, and also contains many other rare and protected species of plants and animals.”
City of York Council has contacted the Environment Agency to express their concerns and to ask that the situation is given more priority.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We have attended the site of an oil pollution incident in Elvington multiple times.
“Our investigations are currently ongoing to understand the source.”
They said people can report pollution incidents to the EA’s 24/7 incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
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