One of Britain’s most protected rivers has breached a key environmental limit placed on it by the regulator, an LBC investigation has uncovered.
In the latest edition of Feargal on Friday, Nick Ferrari tasked legendary pop star and fly fishing fanatic Feargal Sharkey with visiting the River Wye, a body of water famed for its previously abundant – but now depleting – salmon population.
There, he tested the water for phosphate, high levels of which is associated with the spawning of blue-green algae, a toxic set of microscopic organisms which can turn the water various shades of green. These algal blooms have the potential to make humans sick and cause fatalities among the fish and bugs that inhabit the water.
At 0.41, Mr Sharkey’s reading from the River Wye exceeded the industry regulator’s upper limit for phosphates by over a third – despite additional legal protections afforded to the river by being a Special Site of Scientific Interest.
“It’s now a regular event that the River Wye, for mile after mile, will light up and turn green over summer… and that is not in celebration of St Patrick’s Day,” Mr Sharkey said.
He continued: “This river is laden with phosphate. [This] should be one of the finest salmon rivers in Europe [but] when people call me up and say ‘Feargal, would you like to come and fish on the river Wye?’, my brain says ‘I’d love to see you my friends, but why travel all the way when I know I’m probably not going to see, let alone catch a salmon?’”
Mr Sharkey’s pessimism about the salmon population is backed up by the experience of locals. The Wye Salmon Association recorded such a low number of catches in the past 12 months that they believe the species could become extinct in the river in the next five years.
The picture is also bleak on a national level. According to the Environment Agency, salmon stocks in 2023 reached a record low, whilst LBC uncovered a fivefold increase in the number of fish killed in England linked to pollution events.
Whilst Mr Sharkey believes Welsh Water, which discharged sewage for over 970,000 hours in 2023, accounting for around 20% of sewage discharge, shoulders a portion of the blame, he is also concerned by the role of agriculture in the vicinity of the River Wye.
“Upstream from me right now are 24 million chickens – and all of that waste, all of that manure, is ending up in this river,” he added.
Earlier this year, concerns around the scale of agricultural runoff prompted the charity River Action to launch legal proceedings against Avara, a company carrying out industrial-scale chicken farming across Hertfordshire and Wales. They claim Avara is offering insufficient protection to the ecosystem, allowing waste from the chickens to wash into the river.
Avara, on the other hand, believes there is “clear scientific data” supporting the fact that surplus phosphate levels in the Wye predate their operations.
Whatever the impact of the agricultural sector, Mr Sharkey is unequivocal that the local water company faces questions over its attitude to the Wye’s problems, telling Nick Ferrari: “Yet another river is dying – and Welsh Water seems disinclined to do anything about it.”
In response to LBC’s investigation, a spokesperson for Welsh Water said: “We take our responsibility for protecting the environment seriously. We are committed to working with other sectors on improving the Wye and we have accelerated investment to improve our treatment works to reduce phosphorous levels.
“Earlier this year we completed seven investment schemes, totalling £53 million, on the Wye a year ahead of schedule. This followed £17m investment at another six sites in recent years.
“As a not-for-profit company that doesn’t pay out dividends to shareholders, we have been able to invest more in river water quality and improving the environment.”
Next week, Feargal will travel up to the River Don, near Sheffield.
