A fisherman has filmed a video which he says shows sewage spilling into the River Wye river just upstream from where people swim. Martin Morgan captured the video on a trip down the river, where he alleges the pollution has been contributing to the death of salmon.
The video shows sewage appearing to pour into the river between Redbrook and Monmouth, where the water looks completely opaque. In the clip, Mr Morgan says the river "stinks to high heaven" and that the salmon are "struggling to survive".
Mr Morgan, secretary of the Black Rock Lave Net Heritage fishery, told WalesOnline: "It's shocking to see what has become of the River Wye. A dry summer has highlighted the underlying issues affecting the health of this river.
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"To see dead and dying salmon just downstream of a sewage discharge was heart-breaking.... We wonder if Natural Resources Wales or the Environment Agency ever had any plan in place to deal with the dry spell, or would it just again be a commentary on past events?"
A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales said: "NRW takes its responsibilities for ensuring water quality in our rivers very seriously. Our officers attended this site as soon as we were made aware of this incident, but we have been unable to identify any specific pollution events that would result in fish mortalities.
"Water companies have a key role to safeguard our water environment and we regulate them as a modern regulator should. This includes how they manage wastewater. The Water Company Sewage Treatment Works (STW) in this location has operated within its permit conditions throughout 2022.
"The prolonged period of dry weather has seen our natural environment placed under extreme pressure over recent weeks. As a result, NRW has been stepping up its monitoring of environmental impacts and responding to incidents and reports of dry rivers, fish mortality, reduced dissolved oxygen and pollution in our rivers and lakes."
Mr Morgan said his historic fishery was told to drastically cut back its operations to protect the life of the river's fish. He obliged and his fishery now effectively operates to teach tourists about historic fishing practices, rather than actively doing any fishing itself.
He said: "Our fishery, Black Rock Lave Net Fishery, was told by NRW that every salmon matters and that if our fishery took five salmon from the Severn Estuary, that would be a threat to salmon stocks. This salmon kill puts it all into perspective."
Mr Morgan has been concerned about the river's salmon for a while, having spotted dead salmon regularly on recent trips down the Wye. In August, he said: "We're going to get hot summers every now and again, but the pumping of sewage into the water and extraction, even in times of drought... they don't stop."
The controversy around the Wye is the latest in a series of worries about sewage in Wales. In February, data was released showing that sewage had been dumped into Welsh waterways more than 100,000 times in only 12 months.
In the video, Mr Morgan asks: "How can this be allowed in drought conditions? In any conditions?"
He continues: "I can't believe what I'm seeing, I really can't... treated sewage, I don't think so. You can't see the bottom, and you wonder why the salmon are dying; this, on top of drought."
Natural Resources Wales' spokesperson said: "To help us respond to incidents as swiftly as possible, it’s important that people report them to us as soon as they are able by reporting any signs of pollution to us on 0300 065 3000 which is available 24/7 or using our online incident form."
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