River pollution in Wales, United Kingdom

Problems

• Causes of river pollution in Wales

  Wales is known for its stunning scenery, and its rivers are no exception. Known as “afons” in Welsh, these natural waterways are spiderwebbed throughout the landscape.
  
  Some of the UK’s biggest rivers rise in Wales. This includes the longest one, the River Severn, which has its source in the Cambrian Mountains. 
  
  Salmon, trout, eel and otters are just some of the wildlife found in and around the many rivers Wales has to offer. 
  
  The Welsh beaches and rivers with the highest pollution rates have been named in the annual report from marine conversation charity Surfers Against Sewage.
  
  River water quality is significantly worse than seawater quality with only 14% of rivers in England and Wales meeting 'Good Ecological Status' and none passing chemical standards suggesting serious problems with sewage and pollution. 
  
  A report by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) found more than half of the River Wye was failing to meet pollution targets.
  
  Concerns have been raised about the effects of phosphates from chicken farms and run-off from fields fertilised with phosphorus compounds on pollution levels in rivers. It leads to a reduction of oxygen in water.
  
  Farming damages rivers, which are contaminated with chemicals and nitrates from the manure of cattle, pigs and chickens.
  
  Waste products being produced from this farming are simply too great for the land to cope with, coupled with inadequate storage capacity, inappropriate spreading, and poor land use management. 
  A sewerage system run at or beyond full capacity, with the rate of upgrades and improvements falling behind the pace with which greater pressures are appearing.
  
  There are around 17,684 licensed sewer overflows across England and Wales – places where water firms are allowed to discharge untreated sewage directly into the environment – and, of these, 89% discharge into rivers. As the WWF website puts it, “overflows are supposed to happen only during extreme rainfall, to prevent sewage backing up into homes. But we found 8-14% of overflows are spilling sewage into rivers at least once a week, and between a third and a half at least once a month”. 
  
  Based on evidence gathered by the investigation, the WWF concludes that companies are relying on sewer overflows to compensate for under-capacity. Additional pressures include the public’s seeming propensity for flushing things down drains that they shouldn’t, such as wet wipes, kitchen fats and sanitary products. These objects block sewers, increasing the frequency of overflows.
  
  Most of today’s sewerage infrastructure was constructed over a century ago and investment is not keeping pace with deterioration.
  
  The Wildlife Trusts in Wales have long called for significant pollution issues in Wales to be addressed. Agricultural pollution contributes to an overall deterioration in water quality and leads to nutrient enrichment known as eutrophication - toxic algal blooms which absorb all the oxygen from both freshwater and coastal waterbodies, significantly reducing the biodiversity and conservation value of that waterbody.

• Health effects of river pollution in Wales.

  Natural Resources wales reported that, among the 9 River Special Areas of Conservation in Wales, the River Usk has the highest incidence of Phosphate pollution.
  
  Other areas that reported more than 50 spills of sewage in the sea include Swansea and in Pembrokeshire.
  
  The River Dee has also remained in the top 20 locations for the amount of health reports submitted, linking sickness to the water quality and these illnesses include gastroenteritis and ear infections.
  Llanrhystud beach in Cardigan Bay, which the Afon Wyre River flows into, has poor bathing water results with very high E.coli levels, some levels so high that they are an extreme risk to human health.
  In beach locations at Barry Island at least one result during the bathing season showed such high E.coli levels that they posed a risk to health.