Danestream, Milford – a significant contamination event

Testing at the Danestream in Milford identified extremely high E. coli levels (~36,100 CFU/100 ml), indicative of severe faecal contamination.

These findings are robust and independently confirmed. The issue was first identified by Miles and then verified by Martin Stewart using a separate digital testing method. Agreement between two independent methods confirms that this is not a testing anomaly, but a genuine pollution event.

At this scale, the source is very likely to be foul wastewater (sewage). There are no agricultural inputs in this catchment that could account for readings of this magnitude.

Thank you, Milford and Hordle Parish Council for giving a public warning. Thr issue has been reported in the Bournemouth Echo. Southern Water have stated there is “no problem,” which likely reflects checks of their own operational assets. However, this does not account for the condition of the stream itself, nor does it exclude intermittent discharges, infrastructure leaks, or unmonitored inputs.

Next steps

This remains a serious and ongoing issue, and we are continuing with targeted monitoring to identify the source.