Audlem foam

As a boater of too many years, I don't think we need a BW investigation team to understand the source of the foam – see Audlem Online story on 11th January.

If you head 40 miles south down the canal to the end of the Shroppie on the edge of Wolverhampton, you'll find a huge sewage treatment works, which has outfalls into the Shroppie and also the Staffs & Worcs canal which helps feed the Shroppie. This is an area boaters choose to avoid due to the sewage processing smells, the aroma from the water, and the towpath undesirables.

There are obviously some (harmless) processing chemicals that get into the outfall, and the smell is quite distinct, though not unpleasant. The foaming effect is always visible at Wheaton Aston lock, around 7 miles north of the outfall, and 30 miles short of Audlem.

Whilst I haven't particularly noticed excess foam at Audlem over the last few weeks, I have regularly noticed the distinctive smell, particularly at the by-wash weir by Bagley Lane bridge (Lock 3).

So I suspect the source is Severn & Trent's sewage works, and a combination of weather (water flow trapped under ice), few boat movements (to break up the continuous flow north), and the recent high levels of water BW have been running down the canal, have contributed to Audlem getting a free bubble bath.

The outfall and its chemicals can't be too harmful to fish and wildlife: these spots are very popular with Black Country anglers!

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