Bathing Status for the Warren Turned Down

Oliver Bullough had an article in last Thursday's Guardian about the campaign to clean up the River Wye.  There was a big meeting in the Parish Hall about  three years ago, where it was agreed (almost unanimously) to try to gain 'bathing status' for the river at the Warren.  This would mean that the quality of the water has to be monitored, by law, at least between May and September, and if the water quality is unsatisfactory, something has to be done about it.  One of the criteria for the granting of bathing status  is the number of people who swim at that location, or otherwise use the river.  

So during 2022, data was collected to show that people do use the river.  

One of the reasons the application was turned down was that the Welsh Government were concerned that too many bathers would have a negative environmental impact on the river.

So what appeared to be our only way of ensuring that the quality of the water was officially checked has been denied.  Citizen scientists have been monitoring the water quality, but they have no power to enforce action to stop sewage or other pollution going into the river.

However, it's not quite as simple as all that, as Sean O'Donohoe (the lone dissenting voice at that Parish Hall meeting) has pointed out, in a letter he sent to the Guardian and has now published on The Warren at Hay-on-Wye Facebook page.

He says that there were other problems with the application for bathing status that caused the Welsh Government to turn it down.  These included the lack of nearby toilets, and the difficulty of getting to the site by car.  Also, the Warren Trust, which owns and manages the Warren, were against the plan, as was the Town Council.  There were fears that the announcement of bathing status would attract more visitors to the Warren than the site could easily accommodate.

So here we are, three years down the line with the river still unprotected, even though it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.

Recently, the government at Westminster published an 'Action Plan'  to improve the River Wye - the official status of the river is "unfavourable - declining".  They identify the problems as follows:

Excess nutrients, especially phosphates, mostly from agricultural land.

Excess sediment, mostly from run off from agricultural land.

Hotter, dryer summers due to climate change.

The spread of invasive species like himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed.

They point out that the population of Atlantic salmon is in a critical state - down to 2,000 to 3,000, from 50,000, and with fewer eggs laid than are necessary to maintain the population in the river.

They say they have been working with farmers and other bodies and provided advice on slurry and manure from chicken farms, as well as working with land managers to plant 167 hectares of new woodland to stabilise the river banks.  They have also appointed a River Champion, Anthea McIntyre.

However, the Angling Trust are not impressed.  They say this is a small step when big strides are needed, and they point out that the Action Plan focusses only on Herefordshire when the River Wye is a cross border river.

Fish Legal, who have been bringing court actions against government bodies to clean up rivers, are also not impressed.

The Country Land and Business Association comments that the government plan mostly repackages previously committed funding - so the £35 million they talk about to help farmers improve their practice is not new money.

To sum up, the River Wye is in trouble, and there seems to be no clear path forward to improve the health of the river - and the government Action Plan seems to be inadequate for the purpose.