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Alex Sobel MP,
Labour’s Shadow Minister for Nature, Water and Flooding, joined the
Angling Trust and the Ross on Wye Angling Club on a visit to the River
Wye to see how the ongoing pollution problems are killing the river.
Alex’s visit (28th
October) coincided with a period of heavy rain, causing yet more problems
for the river. Only three days prior to the visit the Ross Angling
Club had recorded phosphate levels 13.8 times above the legal limit.
The visit from Alex Sobel
coincided with the announcement from Thérèse Coffey, Defra Secretary of
State, that the government would miss its legal duty under the
Environment Act to publish water quality targets for England.
Alex Sobel
commented:
“Seeing first hand the
serious water quality issues in the Wye, and hearing from anglers that
salmon are now almost extinct was heart-breaking. I want to thank the
thousands of volunteers who dedicate their precious time to carry out
testing work with the Trust.
“The next Labour Government will demand mandatory monitoring of all
sewage outlets, introduce automatic fines for discharges, and a standing
charge penalty for companies failing to meet monitoring requirements. We
will hold water bosses personally accountable for pollution and strike
off persistent offenders.
“There is no time to waste - we need to clean up our rivers as quickly as
possible, and only a Labour government has the political will to make it
happen.”
While visiting the River
Wye, Alex took part in the Angling Trust’s Water Quality Monitoring
Network by testing the river for himself for both phosphate and nitrate
levels. While the level of phosphate pollution had fallen since the
alarming levels of three days previous, it was still above the legal
limit for the river.
Stuart
Singleton-White, Head of Campaigns at the Angling Trust, said:
“It was hugely important
to be able to bring Alex, as the Shadow Environment Minster, to the river
and to be able to show him the problems this iconic rivers is
suffering. The Wye is on its knees, and it is not just the fish and
wildlife that is suffering. The whole economy of the area, whose
tourism relies on this beautiful river that was once teeming with life
for its livelihood, could be wiped out if urgent action isn’t taken.
“By showing Alex the
problems, we are looking for Labour to ensure its policies and priorities
address the pollution crisis all our rivers are facing.”
While in Ross-on-Wye Alex
was briefed by both the angling club and Fish Legal on the issues the
river is facing and the actions they are taking to protect their
fisheries by restoring the river to good health.
Robert Leather,
Chairman of Ross on Wye Angling Club, who joined Alex on the river, said:
"We have been
witness to a rapid decline in the ecosystems in the Wye caused primarily
by some poor unregulated farming practices. Ross Angling Club were able
to explain to Mr Sobel the change from what was a crystal-clear river, to
one filled with sludge covering the once ecologically rich river
beds.
"Our two and a half
year phosphate monitoring programme demonstrates clearly the link between
phosphate rich run-off and the high levels of algae now in the river. Mr
Sobel will take these findings to his Labour colleagues and hopes to
attract support for his political party through prioritising restoration of
our river-based ecosystems through encouragement, enforcement and a ‘net
zero’ cost to the tax payer by funnelling fines back into the
environment."
Penny Gane, from
Fish Legal, which is representing the Ross on Wye Angling Club in an
ongoing legal action against Natural Resources Wales, said:
“It is now over two years
since we notified Natural Resources Wales that environmental damage is
being caused to the River Wye by intensive poultry units in Wales. Having
initially concluded that there was no evidence of environmental damage
and therefore no duty on them to act, we are awaiting Natural Resources
Wales response to our questions about their reliance on out-of-date data
to reach that conclusion."
The River Wye has become
the totem for all that is wrong with our rivers and the system of
agricultural land management, which allows alarming amounts of run off
from a range of sources including the expansion of industrial-sized
poultry units throughout Herefordshire and in the upper Wye catchment in
Powys as well as poor sewage management, to flow unchallenged into
rivers. The Wye is the pinnacle of the government's, its agencies,
and water companies’ failure. All English and Welsh rivers fail
chemical standards set by the government, and only 14% meet ecological
standards in England.
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