Campaigners for the river Wye have accused the Environment Agency of signing a death warrant for the water course, demanding a formal Water Protection Zone for the area.
On Wednesday, December 3, the Environment Agency unveiled its long-awaited Diffuse Water Pollution Plan (DWPP) for the River Wye Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The plan which includes the English sections of the River Wye Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)/SAC and River Lugg SSSI, had taken ten years to write, but according to campaigners falls well short of any new approaches to the worsening pollution problems.
Voice of the River Wye Louise Bodnar, said: “This is a death warrant for the Wye, it’s sickening that those with the power to help the river choose not to. For the many farmers who want to improve the river this is a crushing blow. It describes how everything currently available in stewardship schemes won’t be enough for the river to recover, but offers no support to do more.
"A Water Protection Zone would make farming fair, bringing the same rules for everyone. Good farming needs to be our normal, not an exception. We need the government to support farmers and the river with a Water Protection Zone!”
"The DWPP identifies that sediment and associated nutrients predominantly from agriculture is the main source of pollution on the Wye. And that issues such as climate change and habitat degradation are also having a negative impact. In the report the EA and Natural England also admit that even with the most optimistic and unrealistic scenario of 100% compliance with existing regulations and with huge uptake of voluntary measures we would still fall far short of cleaning up the pollution on the Wye."
They added: " But all the EA and Natural England now offer to tackle the situation is more of the same measures that have failed to date. Though their plan clearly shows that business as usual won’t work but will simply doom the Wye to continued decline.
"Current approaches are insufficient to rescue the river and so special measures are required. "
Save The Wye chair David Gillam said: “How can it possibly take ten years to produce such a pathetic plan? Indeed, it’s not even a plan as it has no targets, no time frame, no budget and no sensible actions to offer. It fails even to evaluate a Water Protection Zone, the one legal mechanism that might actually improve the situation. The EA is making a mockery of the court, the environmental law that is meant to protect our rivers, and indeed all those who are working hard to improve the condition of the Wye.”
In 2022, Herefordshire Council wrote to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defra requesting a Water Protection Zone for the Wye. In 2011 the EA explored the potential use of a WPZ on the Lugg.
However, they decided to continue to use their existing powers but retained a WPZ as a potential option if problems proved persistent.
Owner of Border Oak and life-long resident of the Lugg catchment, Merry Albright said: “I was personally crestfallen to read the DWPP and to realise that, despite many promises and the detailed evidence, it sadly fell short on meaningful and effective actions. It was also without urgency or conviction despite the long delay.
"My hope for an implementable restoration plan which set out a radical new era (after a decade of discussion) was misplaced. It is hard not to feel dismayed that those with the power to implement much needed and long overdue changes have not been able to produce a recovery and protection plan. The solutions are known, but were avoided in the DWPP.”
River Action’s head of legal Emma Dearnaley said: “After decades of failure, regulators now admit that existing rules and voluntary schemes cannot save the Wye yet still refuse to act decisively. After a court ruling and ten years to act, continued reliance on measures that have already failed is indefensible. A Water Protection Zone is a powerful legal tool that puts a river into special measures, stopping further damage in an overloaded catchment and finally making the rules fair and consistent for everyone. This would give one of our most important and beloved rivers a genuine chance to recover before it’s too late.”
