The organisation wants to hand responsibility back to a neighbouring authority due to the toxic organism.
According to a statement by Canvey Island Town Council, a request has been made to surrender lease on Canvey Lake, Essex, due to ongoing environmental issues linked to an outbreak of blue-green algae, leading to ‘unachievable’ maintenance costs.
This follows an analysis by the Environment Agency, which found high levels of the toxic organism in the water. If exposed, plant life, aquatic and land animals, and humans can all suffer ill health due to the substance.
Castle Point Borough Council will take back responsibility for the body of water ‘subject to due diligence and formal execution of legal documents’. The organisation has also pledged to produce an action plan to restore ecological health to the blue space, and ensure all requirements to keep the are in a good state will be met.
‘Council officers are actively progressing the work needed and will bring it to members for a formal decision,’ said Cllr Warren Gibson, Deputy Leader of Castle Point Borough Council. ‘In the meantime, Castle Point Borough Council continues to support Canvey Island Town Council and is working to facilitate a smooth transition.
‘Canvey Lake is deeply valued by local residents, not only as a surface water attenuation facility (a structure to temporarily store excess rainwater to help prevent flooding) but as a space for leisure and wellbeing,’ he continued. ‘We’re committed to ensuring the Lake’s future reflects both its environmental importance and its importance to the local community.’
In 2022, England’s largest freshwater lake, Windermere, suffered an outbreak of blue-green algae driven by soaring temperatures during a summer heatwave. The organism can be deadly to dogs, and prevents sunlight from penetrating below the surface, starving fish and other species of oxygen.
Image: Mihály Köles / Unsplash
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