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River Pollution Incidents

The End Sewage Campaign

The #EndSewagePollution Coalition comprises of a number of environmental NGOs, and they are pushing for a change to stop the practice of discharging raw sewage directly into waterways. They have a campaign asking MPs to speak up in parliament to #EndSewagePollution.

Major Rivers in Powys

Pumlumon is the highest point in Mid Wales and has a number of rivers that start there, including the longest river in Britain, the River Severn, what was known as the most beautiful river - the river Wye, and the river Rheidol. The river Ystwyth, which flows to Aberystwyth, has it's source in a number of streams that flow from Pumlumon before joining with the river Rheidol.

The River Wye is one of the most important rivers in the UK for nature conservation. It is an important migration route and wildlife corridor, as well as a key breeding area, but it is suffering from severe pollution and the effects of climate change. Many factors are involved, and these include intensive agriculture, the discharge of human sewage, industrial spillage and the increased frequency of severe flooding events.

In their latest assessment, Natural Resources Wales found that more than 60% of the Welsh sections of the Wye Special Area of Conservation failed phosphate limits, stating that:

This pollution damages irreplaceable ecosystems and kills the river from the bottom up. More information on river pollution through agriculture and untreated human sewage can be found at The Rivers Trust and Powysinfo.

Citizen's Science in Action

Friends of the Upper Wye are running a citizen's science project to find out and monitor where nutrients, particularly phosphates, enter watercourses, so pollution hotspots can be identified. Natural Resources Wales found that more than 60% of the Welsh sections of the Wye Special Area of Conservation failed phosphate limits. The environment agencies only monitor a few locations a handful of times a year. Citizen scientists provide regular testing at many locations.

Make Art for the Wye - be part of 'Lift the River'

Lift the River is a creative response to the crisis facing the Wye. All contributions of images, observations, memories, stories and works of art about the river Wye are welcome, and are being added to the online exhibition.

The River Severn and its Tributaries

The Severn Rivers Trust's motto is 'working for a healthy, resilient river Severn for everyone', and works along the whole of the river in both Wales and England. They run river clean days, children's activities in the holidays, and river monitoring projects - see here. They also run a number of projects, as well work with landowners and farmers, run the Severn Conservation Taskforce, Citizen Science projects, and a variety of activities at sites where they are working to restore the river - see their 'support us' page.

Love Your River, Love Your Lake

 

 

Page last modified: 05 Dec 2022, 11:37