Pollution Incidents
Over the years, both rivers have suffered serious Spot Pollution events. The Wye was badly affected by an accidental release of 20 tons of sugar at Hereford in 1994. In addition, the River Elan (an Upper Wye tributary) and the Upper Wye itself both received a huge, inadvertent chemical release in 1995. At the time this attracted the largest ever fine for pollution in the criminal courts and the compensation recovered enabled the Foundation to commence work restoring the river’s fishery.
There have also been numerous incidents of silage, slurry and sheep dip pollution in both our rivers. The Usk has escaped catastrophic pollution incidents and the estuarine water quality has been much improved. It has, however, been plagued by a series of point pollutions, mostly originating from farms, that have periodically wiped out life in vulnerable tributaries such as the Gavenny, Sor and Olway Brooks. The Usk also has a persistent problem with combined sewage overflows (CSOs) at both Brecon and Abergavenny.
If you ever come across this, ring the Environment Agency immediately on 0800 80 70 60
