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There is now a Cilgerran Group (of approximately 10 people) who are interested in this project. Nathaniel of the Teifi Restoration Project is co-ordinating us. If you would like to join the group email him on nathaniel@westwalesriverstrust.org
He will be in in touch with us shortly to organise a first group get-together and arrange a familiarisation/walkover day.
We had our first outing on Sunday the 27th November lead by Nathaniel of the Teifi Restoration Project. A most enjoyable four hours of exploration and discovery along the Plysgog. Nathaniel is a mine of information and spreads his knowledge freely. We used the App to report 15 issues ranging across: Artificial Barriers, Natural Barriers, Water quality issues, Habitat issues and Invasive species. Many many thanks to Nathaniel for his time and input.
Here is a link passed onto us by Nathaniel on how to recognise brown trout spawning areas called “Redds”…
Last Saturday the 17 December I walked down the Teifi to the confluence with the Plysgog and was shocked by the state of the water coming down. I really had no idea what was the cause. CSO event and broken septic tank crossed my mind as there was a very strong sewage like smell. But it wasn’t until I sent photos and video to Nathaniel and got his reply that things became clear. His reply was….
“Oh no! That to me looks like slurry – be it a failure or runoff. Sewage would be milkier as would a septic tank. By the speed & rate of bubbles accumulating I’d imagine very high in nutrients and oxygen demand.
Was anyone else able to see the river further upstream on this date?
It could be that, as I saw on a couple of tributaries round Wales in the last fortnight farmers were applying liquid and / or solid muck on their fields during the dry spell, only this was followed by an unexpected cold snap, some snow / sleet and then a sudden melting. Therefore what had been applied froze before it could “soak in” then had a sudden unexpected thawing out followed by intense rain. I would hope this is the case and doesn’t repeat.
Log the suspected incident with NRW if possible 0300 065 3000 request an incident number while on the phone and email them images and video, asking to be informed of environment officers thoughts, perhaps let them know of the group at the same time. I understand it’s late, but it’s good for them to have these logged should anything else in the catchment happen or been reported.”
I did report the incident to NRW – log number is 2208914
Image of the Pollution entering the Teifi:
Foam like a bubble bath on Plysgog just upstream of confluence…
I thought I would add an edited version of Nathaniels further thoughts here…
“Well done for reporting and noticing the incident Dave. While it is awful to see this, it re-emphasized why we began setting up adopt groups in the first instance, your eyes & ears on the ground are indispensable and without this it would/could have gone unnoticed. Spreading this sort of information could lead to community pressure to change behaviour and is what I feel these groups have the ability to instil. However, we must approach it in an open way that does not isolate or provoke the offender in the first instance.
I looked up the sewage hours for outfalls in the Cilgerran area, on average they spill for 11-12 hours at a time. I could be wrong in my assumption of slurry, but given the colour that was my assumption, it was something we were worried about when we saw the number of spreaders out before & during the cold weather. You can find the hours & locations here. https://theriverstrust.org/sewage-map
If there is another incident, a group alert and visual check of the river in your locality, followed by as many as possible reporting the incident is my suggested approach.
Best wishes,
Nathaniel
Project Officer
West Wales Rivers Trust
Phone: 07780303533
Email: nathaniel@westwalesriverstrust.org
Website: http://www.westwalesriverstrust.org “
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