THE BODY in charge of the River Lea has said it is working on reducing pollution after a study showed fish could not survive in the water.

The study commissioned by environmental charity Thames21 tested water in the Pymmes Brook in Fore Street and the Salmons Brook in Enfield Chase and found there was not enough oxygen to support fish.

But the Environment Agency said it had carried out its own tests in August and found a “generally suppressed fish population”, and had been working on a number of projects to improve this since 2009.

In a statement, it said: “Poor water quality combined with pollution incidents and the overall low quality of suitable habitat has resulted in populations of fish like roach, pike and bleak struggling to thrive.

“We are now working with a wide range of partner organisations including local councils, Thames Water and Thames 21 to reduce the instances of [drainage] misconnections and to raise awareness of the causes of water pollution.”

Thames 21 has started the Love the Lea campaign to raise awareness of the problem and gave a presentation to Enfield councillors last month.