The episode of violent winds which affected the Hauts-de-France on Sunday caused a fertilizer leak near Songeons (Oise), polluting the Thérain river and killing many fish, announced Thursday the prefecture, which prohibits the use of this water.
“The windy episode of Sunday, October 23 damaged a tank containing liquid fertilizer, which spilled into the sewerage and rainwater network”, indicates the prefecture. “The main consequence of this pollution is fish mortality on the course of the Thérain, from Songeons and downstream from Beauvais”, she continues.
“Thanks to the intervention of the State services concerned, of the commune of Songeons and of Véolia, this flow has been put an end” and the networks have been cleaned, assures the prefecture. But the “treatment capacity of the Songeons wastewater treatment plant has also been disrupted”, and the full restoration of service will “probably take a few weeks”, she specifies.
As a precaution, the prefect of the Oise has banned fishing, the consumption of fish, and the use of water for watering animals or water sports for ten days, in particular on the perimeter of Thérain, its arms, and the bodies of water they feed, from Songeons to the confluence of the Oise.
The neighboring municipalities concerned are: Allonne, Angy, Bailleul-sur-Thérain, Balagny-sur-Thérain, Beauvais, Bonnières, Bury, Canny-sur-Thérain, Cires-lès-Mello, Cramoisy, Crillon, Escames, Fontenay-Torcy, Fouquenies, Haucourt, Heilles, Herchies, Héricourt-sur-Thérain, Hermes, Hondainville, Lachapelle-sous-Gerberoy, Martincourt, Maysel, Mello, Milly-sur-Thérain, Montataire, Montreuil-sur-Thérain, Mouy, Rochy-Condé, Saint-Félix, Saint-Leu d’Esserent, Saint-Samson-la-Poterie, Saint-Vaast-lès-Mello, Songeons, Sully, Therdonne, Troissereux, Villers-Saint-Sépulcre, Vrocourt and Warluis.