Campaigners want prompt action on river polluters

The quality of the River Wye has long been an issues for campaigners

Campaigners worried about the state of the River Wye in Herefordshire are urging the head of the Environment Agency (EA) to take more meaningful and prompt action against polluters.

They want the regular water pollution measurements taken by citizens to form the basis for enforcement action, which only the EA can take.

The group’s attempts to alert the EA to pollution incidents are “liable to go unattended”, it said.

EA chairman Alan Lovell said he welcomed a new government bill which has given the EA more power to "hold water companies to account and ensure the polluter pays”.

Friends of the River Wye (FRW) met Mr Lovell at Queenswood country park last week.

Mr Lovell suggested giving trusted individuals a hotline to highlight pollution incidents, but the group claimed he admitted his organisation lacked adequate funding and resources for enforcement work.

While the new powers give the EA greater ability to tackle pollution from water companies, “we would like similar tools to deal with agricultural pollution too”, FRW said.

“At the moment those farmers taking the time, trouble and expense to comply with environmental regulations can be undercut by less scrupulous actors who are unlikely to suffer any penalty for polluting the environment,” they said.

“This cannot continue.”

The Wye is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and is home to protected species such as otters, kingfishers, white-clawed crayfish and the Atlantic salmon

Mr Lovell said afterwards he welcomed the government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill, introduced to Parliament this month, which “will give us, as regulator, more power to protect our precious water quality and resources, hold water companies to account and ensure the polluter pays”.

The meeting, set up by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, was also attended by CPRE Herefordshire, Wye Salmon Association and Save the Wye.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group has been created to advance the cause of a cleaner Wye in Parliament.

Led by Labour peer Lord David Lipsey, who lives near the Herefordshire border, it includes both Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire Jesse Norman and newly elected Green MP for North Herefordshire Ellie Chowns.

It is being supported by law firm Leigh Day, currently leading a legal claim on behalf of Wye catchment area residents to tackle pollution in the river arising from farm run-off.

Earlier this year the Conservative government pledged £35m to farmers to encourage them to stop soil getting into the water, and to take the waste from chicken farms out of the river catchment.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.