Sheffield heatwave: 'Emergency' as wildlife dies at top tourist attraction Forge Dam hit by drought

Low water at Forge Dam has left aquatic life stranded in stagnant, oxygen-depleted pools.

The 250-year-old reservoir has a leak and suffers from silting, despite a £500,000 restoration project. It comes as Sheffield has endured one of the driest springs on record and is officially in drought.

Resident Thomas Booth said he feared it was too late to save any remaining wildlife.

“The ecology of the area is in grave danger. The lack of water combined with the mis-managed attempt at de-silting the dam by Friends of Porter Valley and Sanctus have resulted in the death of wildlife in the dam” he said.

“Fishes and ducklings are floating dead because of the stagnant, oxygen depleted water.”

In a post, Ann le Sage, chair of Friends of the Porter Valley, said there had been several reports that the fish in Forge Dam are in difficulty because water and oxygen levels were low.

She added: “The leak in the spillway has not been matched by recent rainfall. Council Parks department was informed yesterday but we understand generators and pumps are not feasible. We are looking at other options.”

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Responding, Iain Jack said: “Surely it can’t be that difficult to pump air into the water? Any basic air compressor attached to a long spray bar would suffice?”

Nicola Williams said: “Been this morning and a sad sight. A guy I was speaking to suggested trying to move them to the bit that is fed by the river.”

But John Williams wasn’t so sure.

“The fish could just be moved to one of the lower ponds. That takes hours - a proper solution will be after the fish have died,” he said.

Iron Bath added: “This needs to be reported to the Environment Agency. I work in the construction industry and if this was happening on one of my sites this would be a definite enforcement notice.”

Julie Askew referred to the restoration project.

“Such a sad state of affairs that this is still a problem after all the fantastic efforts of FoPV over the years to get this improved,” she stated.

The leak was discovered towards the end of a £500,000 de-silting and dam wall repair project in 2023, which the Friends spent 10 years raising money for.

An old sluice gate was found to be broken and at times the Porter Brook drains down it, creating islands of mud and standing pools.

At the time, Ann LeSage, said: “We’ve never been able to celebrate all the hard work despite 10 years of raising money. I’m mortified at the result. People who love the area are miserable and angry at its appearance.”