What is River Wandle?
[[File:UK London - River Wandle, Carshalton.jpg|thumb|right|280px|River Wandle at [[Carshalton]]]] [[File:Bennett's Hole and River Wandle 4.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Bennett's Hole and River Wandle]] The '''River Wandle''' is a river in south-east England. The river runs through southwest [[London]]. Rain falls on the [[North Downs]], filters through the [[chalk]] and emerges on the [[spring (water)|spring]] line. The river is first visible at Wandle Park in Croydon. It passes through the [[London Boroughs]] of Croydon, Sutton, Merton, and [[Wandsworth]] to join the [[River Thames]] at Wandsworth. The River Wandle is between 9 and 11 miles long. == History of the River Wandle == The river has been used since [[Roman Britain|Roman]] times. It was heavily industrialised in the 17th and 18th centuries and was one of the most [[polluted]] rivers in England. In Victorian times the Wandle was one of hardest working rivers in the world. The river was used to power 68 [[water wheel]]s, of which only a few survive, such as at Merton Abbey Mills.<ref>{{cite book|title=The London Encyclopaedia|year=1993|url=https://archive.org/details/londonencyclopae0000unse_y6d9|edition=1991|editor=Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert|publisher=Macmillan|page=[https://archive.org/details/londonencyclopae0000unse_y6d9/page/947 947]|isbn=0-333-57688-8}} Retrieved 29 August 2013.</ref> On 17 September 2007, a chemical was accidentally flushed into the Wandle from Thames Water's Beddington sewage works. The chemical was being used to clean, but instead of being put back through the treatment works, it was accidentally put into the river. This resulted in over 2,000 fish of various species being killed. The company failed to tell the Environment Agency of the incident, as the site manager thought it wasn't important. Dry [[fly fishing]] was first started for catching trout from the river. Cleanups of the Wandle have improved the water quality, leading to a return of the river's once famous [[brown trout]]. This improvement in water quali