Horse Chestnut Woodchips & Watercourses

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

As always apologies if this is 'grannies, eggs n sucks'!

 

I've just been speaking with a contractor who advised me he was prosecuted by the EA for allowing woodchips from a HC to get into an adjacent watercourse/stream.

 

He further advised that the fine (thankfully only £250.00) was because the HC woodchips are toxic in watercourses, causing a 'blueing' of the water surface as he described it and it can kill fish, and it was for this rather than allowing the chip to enter the stream he was prosecuted.

 

As you may be aware if you are storing woodchip at your premises it should not contaminate any nearby watercourses and somewhere on their website I (think) I read it should be at least 10m away. Also if it is your land, or you are the tenant (I think) then you should have a Para. 21 exemption certificate which is basically a self-declaration of woodchip storage in accordnace with the generic conditions imposed (thankfully it's a very straight forward process AND no fee involved....YES 'NO FEE'!!!)

 

Cheers all..

Paul

[Mozza]

I remember a women going proper mental at me years ago as she thought we'd spilt something all over her new driveway, HC takedown and it was raining, We talked her round to the fact it was the wood/wood chip that runs "blue" when wet, She still wasnt very happy tho.

 

 

I didnt know it could kill fish, Bad news.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

  Mozza said:

I remember a women going proper mental at me years ago as she thought we'd spilt something all over her new driveway, HC takedown and it was raining, We talked her round to the fact it was the wood/wood chip that runs "blue" when wet, She still wasnt very happy tho.

 

 

I didnt know it could kill fish, Bad news.

 

Neither did the EA inspectors at the site visit, it was only subsequently when they did further investigations n research that they discovered this.

 

Summat to be mindful of for the future though as my prediction is that many more HCs will be need to be removed given the current 'combined plague' they're sufferin.

 

Cheers..

Paul

[David Humphries]

Aesculin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/13977-horsechestnut-antifreeze.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Good to know, always wondered why it ran blue, see raywood ash do this too, turn blue i mean.

[armchairarborist]

pigment 'aesculin' apparently..

[scottythepinetree]

London Plane does something similar I think?

[Jon Lad]

  Mozza said:

I remember a women going proper mental at me years ago as she thought we'd spilt something all over her new driveway, HC takedown and it was raining, We talked her round to the fact it was the wood/wood chip that runs "blue" when wet, She still wasnt very happy tho.

 

 

This cusomer had a go at us once, saying the chipper fluid was leaking onto his driveway.

[armchairarborist]

some guy was concerned that it was dripping out of my landy, it was snowing which made it worse, so just looked really bad, then he wanted all the chip dropping at the top of a carpark, glad i didnt have to go back the day after as it was certain to have 'blue runs' down the snowy carpark..