As with all rivers, the Wye is at the mercy of whatever happens within its catchment. Rain that falls on the hillsides, fields and towns of the English and Welsh borders ultimately finds its way into the river channel, and ultimately out to sea, but as it does so, it can bring pollutants from across the landscape, placing the river’s, and the the sea's, wildlife at risk.  

Official figures last year revealed that not one river or lake in England is in good health¹

Unfortunately for the Wye, Powys is Europe’s largest producer of free-range eggs, home to numerous ‘Intensive Poultry Units’ housing an estimated 10 million chickens. Waste - chicken poo - is spread on the surrounding farmland as a valuable fertilizer. But where applied in excess, the nutrients simply wash away into the river.

This massive pollutant load has a devastating impact on the river. Phosphate triggers the growth of algae, smothering aquatic plants and using up oxygen in the water so that insects and fish effectively suffocate. Conservationists have described the river as looking “like pea soup”. 

This is a shocking example of river pollution, but as Rivercide will describe, it is by no means the only one - and Wildlife Trusts across the country are taking action.   

How Wildlife Trusts are working to tackle river pollution 

In some cases, Wildlife Trusts are working out in the river catchments, for example Shropshire Wildlife Trust has partnered with Severn Trent Water to tackle pollution coming from farmland.

This, and other partnerships between Wildlife Trusts and water companies, work well because of a common interest – reducing this pollution will benefit freshwater wildlife, and protect drinking water sources. The Trust are providing landowners with advice and practical support to help them reduce the loss of soil, nutrients and agrochemicals from their fields, from simple steps like planning the timing of fertilizer applications so that they are not washed away by rains, to practical changes like moving field gateways to break the flow ‘pathways’ that currently channel runoff into watercourses.  

In other cases, Wildlife Trusts play the key role of holding others to account.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is currently dealing with high levels of pollution in their Lower Test Nature Reserve, where fuel oil from a nearby industrial estate has been released into the River Test, an iconic chalk river. The Trust believe that heavy rains caused an oil interceptor to flood diesel into the river, creating long-lasting damage to protected habitat. The Trust have pushed Southern Water and the Environment Agency to act, and work is now underway to contain the pollution, with the organisations discussing long-term fixes to the problem.  

Pollution events like these are not only harmful to wildlife. They can prevent our use and enjoyment of the water environment too, as swimmers, paddlers and anglers. And they can cost us dear – through our water bills, when companies need to remove harmful chemicals from water to make it safe for us to drink.  

What next for our rivers? 

People rightly want to see an end to pollution of our rivers, lakes, wetlands and coasts.  And to achieve that, we will need: 

• Policy backing and resources for regulators.
• All sectors to achieve the basics, then go beyond.
• Strategic and collaborative approaches, at a catchment scale. 

But what does that mean?

If we are to deliver the recovery of nature that is so often talked about by the government, we need to see the changes set out above. And sooner, rather than later. 

¹ Not one river in England is in good health