LOCAL people have set up a new grassroots community group to protect and monitor pollution levels in the upper River Wye.

Hay-on-Wye resident Richard Greatrex says he reached out to his local community after the river turned “putrid green” last summer due to intense and prolonged algal blooms.

He says many people wanted to understand what was happening to their river and they wanted to help.

Throughout lockdown, concerned residents convened via Zoom and the group grew bigger and bigger.

They set about researching the many factors contributing to the poor health of the river, including severe agricultural pollution, the discharge of human sewage and the effects of climate change.

They decided to form the Friends of the Upper Wye (FOUW) which covers the area from the Wye’s source on Plynlimon in mid-Wales to its confluence with the Lugg at Mordiford, Herefordshire.

Mr Greatrex says the group quickly discovered that there was a paucity of data about the state of the Wye and an urgent need for more regular monitoring at many more locations.

The Friends of the Upper Wye are now designing a citizen science programme to monitor water quality with help from Cardiff University, the Environment Agency and the Wye and Usk Foundation.

They hope that people power can help to fill the data gap and compliment the monitoring work being done by Natural Resources Wales and the Environment Agency.

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The group is looking to recruit volunteers who live near the Upper Wye, or a stream or brook which feeds into it, and who are willing to regularly monitor their local patch.

The citizen science programme aims to expand scientific knowledge of the Upper Wye and its tributaries.

The group is also launching an arts project CodwchYrAfon / LiftTheRiver dreamt up by group member Eamon Bourke.

LiftTheRiver aims to highlight the cultural importance of the Wye and to investigate the role the river plays in the lives of local people.

FOUW are inviting people to submit their own ‘River Samples’ which could take any form, be that memories, photos, poems, paintings, songs or something else.

Mr Bourke said: “LiftTheRiver is intended to be something positive for local people to enjoy as we emerge from Covid restrictions, it is designed to encourage new collaborations and new friendships.

“The Wye isn’t just a Special Area of Conservation, it is also a Special Area of Creativity! CodwchYrAfon / LiftTheRiver is an invitation to come together and get creative on behalf of the Wye.

A third strand of the FOUW is exploring the idea of applying for designated bathing water status for The Warren at Hay-on-Wye.

Such a designation means that the water would be regularly tested during the bathing season and the local council would display information about water quality and pollution, allowing bathers to make informed decisions.

FOUW Chair Dr Tom Tibbits said: “We decided to launch FOUW to channel the immense enthusiasm and power of the community to actually do something to help the river Wye, on which we all depend, be that for biodiversity, business or leisure.

“Whether for tourism, for swimming, fishing or rowing, irrigation, drinking water, or just for enjoying, the Wye is central to any Powys or Herefordshire resident’s way of life.

“We hope to empower the hearts and minds of our local communities to step up to save the Upper Wye, and preserve its natural beauty for the generations to come.”