Black Country canal closed after burst pipe left raw sewage flowing towards nature reserve
A section of the Stourbridge Canal has been closed after a burst pipe left the area exposed to large amounts of raw sewage.
Over the weekend residents had reported 'foul smells' along the canal and within Saltwells Nature Reserve in Netherton, with sewage visible near the confluence of Black Brook and Mousesweet Brook.
On Tuesday, March 3 more reports of issues further up the canal were reported, with one Facebook user saying 'tonnes' of sewage was flowing into the canal 400 yards up from the Wordsley Basin, around three miles away from where the original issues were raised. However, authorities have confirmed the two issues are not linked.
Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Express & Star’s free newsletter
Keith Firstbrook, a Kingswinford resident who was dropping his car off for an MOT in Netherton on Friday, February 27, said: "I used to live in the area some 65 years ago, so as it was such a nice day I dropped my car off and walked in that direction. I thought it would be nice to visit the old place and have a look around the Nature Reserve.
"I remembered the crystal-clear stream that runs through the woodland, Black Brook. It used to be lovely there so I made my way down, and what a disappointment it was. The smell was terrible.
"The water was stagnant, with scum floating and swirling on the surface, devoid of any life that I could see. It was such a contrast to my childhood memories of catching small fish and elvers with a net and a jam jar from the stream.
"I carried on walking towards Pedmore Road and came to the confluence of Black Brook and Mousesweet Brook, near the crossing on Pedmore Road, where another pipe discharged into the water. It was a terrible sight, and the smell was obnoxious — the stench of sewage and excrement.
