Herefordshire suffers as hot weather takes its toll

The river Wye at Hereford’s Old Bridge is usually between 0.10m and 3.30m, and has been between these levels for 90 per cent of the time since monitoring began.

But the typical recent level of the river there over the past 12 months has been between 0.02m and 4.21m.

Currently, it is at 0.036m and falling (correct as of August 9).

What a difference! These two pictures of the entrance to Hereford’s King George VI Playing Fields show the effect the lack of rain is having. The top one was taken in August 2021 and shows the grass verges a deep verdant green, while the bottom one was taken this month and shows them parched and bleached by the sun and record-breaking temperatures

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The hot weather has also affected the state of the brooks that feed into the river, leaving animals without a viable habitat.

Nic Howes, a volunteer with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, said Hereford’s Yazor Brook had dried up during the hot weather.

The brook restoration’s project officer Richard Fishbourne and a team of volunteers had to rescue fish from the brook on July 21.

Nic Howes showing where the level the brook is usually at

Ongoing monitoring of brook levels throughout the city indicated that the Eign Brook had become a series of disconnected pools, each containing large numbers of fish trying to survive in the hostile environment of warm, deoxygenated water, said Mr Howes.

During a rescue mission fish were netted from pools downstream of Ledbury Road and put into barrels of water before being taken to Eign Wharf, where they were then carefully transferred into the river Wye.

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HYBRP fish rescue party by Eign Brook - Mo Burns, Richard Fishbourne, Nic Howes, Maggie Setterfield and Emil Morfett. Picture: Anne Cottringer.

Over the weekend of August 6 there was a dramatic fall of more than 200mm in the level of the Eign Brook.

This led to another fish rescue call-out for volunteers on the morning of Monday, August 8.

The bed of the brook was completely dry alongside the Rose Garden on Ledbury Road, but some small pools downstream were full of fish.

Hundreds of fish were rescued from Eign Brook

Hundreds of them were rescued as before, including many from the Widemarsh Brook, which was also dry save for a few pools.

Two Environment Agency officers were also in Hereford on Monday monitoring conditions on other sections of the city brooks.

The crisis has been reported to the agency’s fisheries team. Nowhere in England is currently officially in a drought and most water companies are maintaining good reservoir storage for summer demand.

Welsh Water says supplies for Herefordshire are adequate, but customers need to be sensible.