On October 1st 1989, a ship offloading crude oil spilt 20 tonnes into the water, whidh spread downstream from Fawley to Calshot Spit
Clearing up the oil involved skimming it off the surface of the water and spraying it with detergent to break it up
Beaches had to be cleaned and the salt marsh was particularly effected, in fact cleaning the salt marsh up caused more damage than good
800 birds were effected by the spill
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Sewage and industrial discharge
Although sewage discharge into the sea is legal, sewage pipes discharge 300 million litres of treated sewage every day into the sea
As the population in an area increases so does the amount of sewage discharged
It is important that the sewage going into the sea is treated so it doesn't give infections to swimmers or the wildlife. At Southampton Water, clams and oysters that are harvested could give people food poisioning if the sewaage is not treated correctly
Run-off from farmland is high in nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates which can make the estuary ecosystem eutrophic - or artifically enriched
Eutrophication is the artifical enrichment of water by fertilisers or sewage it can cause:
Algal blooms, which produces toxins that kill fish
Sunlight to be blocked out
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Waste and metal pollution
Even treated sewage still contains solid waste, such as sanitary towels and these can litter the beaches
Ships can also contribute to marine litter
Tin from ship fuel leaks into the water killing the wildlife
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