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Bilge pollution


BWM

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Yes, thank you for that info. It looks like the diesel could hang around on the surface for a couple of months and it could be harmful to fish etc.  It is not nice to see a diesel slick and the smell seems to linger for a long time.

 

haggis 

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8 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I seem to recall something about using detergents to clear the slick does as much damage as the oil. It may nnot be as bad as it looks, a little diesel goes a long way. 

 

Indeed. Diesel squirted with washing up liquid does not go away (where would it go?), you just can't see it any longer.

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Sorry I didn't mean to dive in and then disappear. I have been told by a civil engineer who does work on various restoration projects around the system that diesel, oil and grease are all pollutants but are also hydrocarbons which are broken down by bacteria in the canal in a short time frame. He told me this while we were grappling with some particularly stiff lock gear which he suspected had been lubricated with water based grease rather than stuff that actually works 

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15 hours ago, Ex Brummie said:

If this is where I think it is on the Shroppie at Brewood, then the natural movement of the water could well mean the boat in the picture is to blame. There seems to be a clear patch at the bow, and as this boat will have a 'through bilge' without bulkheads, there is plenty of rain catchment area.

It is on the GU near Kingswood junction, i'm not convinced that the boat pictured is responsible as there was a gap between it and the slick prior to the photo. A couple of minutes before, another craft had moved off and you can see a clear patch in the centre of the slick where it once was. I assumed that they had started up, then operated a manual bilge pump but not having witnessed this i can't be sure. 

14 hours ago, Nut said:

so if im reading this right

some bellend has done an oil change and dumped it in the cut

It does look fairly hideous. 

14 hours ago, Greyladyx said:

It's surprising how many people have inches of water in their engine bays and think it's normal.

 

My neighbour turns her bilge pump on every night for a few minutes leaving an oil slick for the morning.

 

Without swearing it's fkin not on.

It certainly isn't on, even more so done regularly. 

13 hours ago, Tumshie said:

?

This really saddens me too; I would like to think it was an accident but the reality is that far too many people are quite selfish and just don't care. ?

 

Accident or not the damage is done. Will there be something done to 'mop' it up or will it just be left to disperse on its own? 

 No mopping up, just pulled away and left it. Not of a scale to involve the environment agency on its own but with a number of lazy people doing the same it can only hurt our environment. 

12 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

Shoreline Response Considerations

Diesel oil is not very sticky or viscous, compared to black oils. When small spills do strand on the shoreline, the oil tends to penetrate porous sediments quickly but also tend to be washed off quickly by waves and tidal flushing. Thus, shoreline cleanup is usually not needed.

Diesel oil is readily and completely degraded by naturally occurring microbes, under time frames of one to two months.

Effects on Wildlife and Plants

In terms of toxicity to water-column organisms, diesel is considered to be one of the most acutely toxic oil types. Fish, invertebrates, and seaweed that come in direct contact with a diesel spill may be killed. However, small spills in open water are so rapidly diluted that fish kills have never been reported. Fish kills have been reported for small spills in confined, shallow water.

 

https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills/resources/small-diesel-spills.html

my bolds

Useful information but looking at the slick it consists of more than diesel i suspect. Some looked like a heavier grade of oil and the reddish looking stuff, who knows?

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1 hour ago, BWM said:

Useful information but looking at the slick it consists of more than diesel i suspect. Some looked like a heavier grade of oil and the reddish looking stuff, who knows?

Agree. Diesel leaves a very clear rainbow in water. That slick looks like more like engine oil to me.

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When I change my oil which is several times a year usualy I let the bit of oil spillage from the filter go in the compartment under the engine which is of course seperate from the rest of the bilge area. This gets a tiny amount of water into it sometimes and when its up to a couple of pints I suck it all out with a wet vac. This is transfered to a plastic container and taken to the waste oil thingy at my mates boatyard. wet vacs onboard are a useful bit of kit.

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2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

When I change my oil which is several times a year usualy I let the bit of oil spillage from the filter go in the compartment under the engine which is of course seperate from the rest of the bilge area. This gets a tiny amount of water into it sometimes and when its up to a couple of pints I suck it all out with a wet vac. This is transfered to a plastic container and taken to the waste oil thingy at my mates boatyard. wet vacs onboard are a useful bit of kit.

 

 

Even better, I have a cordless wet vac. Incredibly useful!

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2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Far more expensive than you can afford.... :P

Well as I have a PROPER engine that produces loads of lectric in a quiet and unhurried fashion I will stick to my cheapo one then :P

  • Haha 1
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20 hours ago, Nut said:

so if im reading this right

some bellend has done an oil change and dumped it in the cut

Almost certainly not : a little diesel or oil goes a long way, so this is probably the result of a pretty filthy bilge. The result from tippng a few litres of oil/ diesel into the cut would be a lot worse, potentially extending for several miles.

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Last March, during the famous Beast from the East, (my planning as impeccable as ever). I dragged my family onto the Shroppi to 'do' the Pontcysylle Aqueduct. We hired a bargain boat known as the Barrel of Ale, hitherto known as the Crock of Shit by us.

Anyway the instruction was as well as a couple of turns on the permanently dripping stern gland was to run the bilge pump, no auto float switch fitted this resulted in pumping overboard a good few gallons of disgusting oily bilge-water. Unfortunately the only alternative to this was sinking and we were bloody cold enough as it was.

I notice the 'Crock' seems to have been retired, it was a solid 'Coal-craft' shell but well past its sell by date but sadly reflects the cavalier attitude to pollution that thankfully seems to have been superseded by a more responsible attitude to our environment.

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4 hours ago, Mad Harold said:

Agree. Diesel leaves a very clear rainbow in water. That slick looks like more like engine oil to me.

It did look grotty, diesel has a similar effect to thinners on heavy oils so probably a nasty mixture. 

3 hours ago, peter n said:

ATF perhaps?

Could be, i've not seen anything like that before. Hydraulic type fluids are generally fairly toxic.

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