Anglers Against Pollution

Richard Wheatley have been making fly fishing products for over 160 years and the Richard Wheatley Fly Box is highly prized by fishermen throughout the world. Now anglers can purchase an exclusive Angling Trust Foam Box – and raise money for our Anglers Against Pollution campaign.

The traditional Richard Wheatley foam boxes are offered with exclusive engraving for Angling Trust members in four colours and with four foam options – and Richard Wheatley are generously donating 20% of sales to Anglers Against Pollution.

In 2019 the Environment Agency published the River Axe N2K Catchment Regulatory Project Report (see below) which demonstrated that proactive enforcement of existing laws relating to agricultural diffuse pollution can have real tangible benefits for our freshwater environment and lead to significant investment in the rural economy – a template which the Angling Trust suggested should be followed catchment by catchment throughout the country.

On the back of this report, the Angling Trust campaigned for the Environment Agency to increase the number of Agriculture Regulatory Inspection Officers in England, as a result of which the EA committed to recruiting an additional 50 inspectors.

Given the findings of the River Axe report and the recognition of the need for more farm inspections and proactive enforcement of the existing laws, it is disappointing to now read a further report that highlights the lack of good farming practice and regulatory compliance by farmers, all contributing to the further degradation of the Taw catchment in North Devon.

The report states:

“This project has shown that despite significant amount of advice and grant aid in the last 10-15 years, there remains a perceived lack of risk associated with failure to comply with the most basic regulations such as Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ); Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (SSAFO); and Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). Significant herd increases have not been accompanied by increases in slurry and silage storage to comply with the regulations, and compliance is not taken seriously by the farming community.”

Of the 101 farms visitied, 87% were NVZ/ SSAFO non-compliant and/or causing pollution. Once again, a lack of robust enforcement through regular farm inspection is contributing to a lack of compliance.

The report continues:

“Over the last 15 years, regulation has been minimal due to reductions in Grant In Aid Funding (GIA) for this kind of work, resulting in significant reductions in frontline regulatory staff. From 2016, a KPI of 0.5% of farms being visited per year was adopted. On this basis, farmers would be able to confidently expect that they would not get an inspection in their lifetime, or maybe 5 or 6 generations of their offspring and they are aware of this. This may have led to complacency about regulations and a general reluctance to engage with the Environment Agency.”

The waters we fish are in crisis, with every water body in England assessed against the Water Framework Directive standard failing – and things are becoming worse, not better.  Agriculture is the most significant contributor to poor water quality.  We need farmers to comply with the regulations and we need the regulators to ensure they do so.

Inappropriate slurry spreading due to lack of infrastructure and wet conditions. A likely cause of pollution

Poor infrastructure and slurry storage causing pollution

Poorly established cover crop runoff and field heaps on compacted maize field

Pollution in our rivers, lakes, canals and seas is nothing new. Anglers have been at the forefront of fighting to protect our water environment from harm since the Anglers Co-operative Association was first set up in 1948. In more recent years the ACA changed it’s name to the Anglers Conservation Association and then when angling organisations across the country merged to form the Angling Trust in 2009, the essential work of the ACA was taken on by Fish Legal who have continued the fight against pollution with even more determination.

In the last 15 years they have won over £1.5 million in compensation for members impacted by pollution. They have taken the Government to court and changed the law five times. They have fought 140 legal cases on behalf of members and advised members on 181 planning threats to fisheries.

As anglers we can be rightly proud that we have been on the frontline fighting against pollution for so long, but there is still more to do and we need your support, so get behind our new Anglers Against Pollution campaign and let’s demand that our rivers, lakes, canals and seas are clean and healthy places, full of fish and abundant wildlife.

We feel that it is time to make a stand. Together we can make a difference.

Background

The Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works (STW) is located west of London in the Colne Valley. The storm discharge from this STW enters the Mill End loop of the River Colne/ Grand Union Canal which is separate to the main channel, but joins it further downstream. The Mill End loop also diverts over a spill weir into another river channel that runs parallel to the canal, through several angling sites and joins up further downstream.

Date of the incident: On the days leading up to the incident there had been a number of pollution events and some non-pollution induced dissolved oxygen crashes in still waters in the region meaning the EA Fisheries officer was stretched having to respond to multiple cases.

14th Aug 2020: A ‘storm’ pollution event reported from Thames Water Maple Lodge. The Environment Agency (EA) fisheries officer was busy dealing with other incidents upstream so the Colne Valley Fisheries Consultative (CVFC) attended.

What was found: Storm discharge which mainly went into the spill weir. The river downstream was an awful grey colour and stank of sewage. Significant numbers of dead and distressed fish were evident for an estimated mile downstream of the discharge point. It could have been further but as the incident was reported in the evening the failing light prevented the full extent of the event to be established.

Response

14th Aug 2020: CVFC were informed that an EA Environmental Team were attending, and Thames Water had been informed through the National Incident Reporting System (NIRS) system. CFVC didn’t see anyone attend to inspect or take samples of the pollution incident. CVFC emailed the EA and Thames Water asking for their incident reports. The generic 20-days to respond email was received from the EA.

16th Aug 2020: Two Riverfly samples at different locations downstream of the incident recorded very low compared to average scores.

21st Aug 2020 (one week after incident): Thames Water sent over their response, which stated they had listed the incident as a ‘no pollution’ incident.

10th Sept (20 days after incident): After no response from the EA within their 20-day response window, CFVC sent a follow up email to the EA. Following this, CVFC received an email which contained a page outlining what they couldn’t tell CVFC (none of this information had been requested) and a report for a completely different incident in May 2020 which the EA fisheries officer and CVFC were not aware of.

CVFC are still awaiting the report for the event on the 14 August 2020.

CVFC said:

‘’The Colne catchment is now blighted by repeated pollution incidents caused by storm discharges. The Environment Agency seems peculiarly reluctant to enforce breaches, even where there is strong evidence of environmental damage, and the current reporting system is not fit for purpose. In our extensive experience, a water company will invariably assert discharges are within the permitted range and does nothing further. The situation is now so bad that much of our time is spent having to investigate matters and find resolutions for ourselves, as well as having to continually pursue water companies and the Environment Agency whose responsibility this actually is.

“A prime example is that on 14th August 2020 a storm discharge from Maple Lodge, Herts resulted in well over a mile of polluted river and a significant fish mortality. It has been recorded as a ‘no pollution’ incident by the water company and after eight weeks we still await a report from the Environment Agency.’’

Background

The river Creedy in Devon is a lovely wild trout river, with catches in the range of 8-12 inches, and in some cases 14 inches fished by the Crediton Fly Fishing Club. It has had a non-stocking policy for over 28 years and is a highly productive river with up to 30 fish catches in the right conditions. In 2010, South West Water were prosecuted for polluting the River Yeo, Devon which runs into the River Creedy.

Date of the incident: 19th July 2017 – A lethal discharge of ferric sulphate occurred on the River Creedy a short distance from the 2010 incident. Ferric sulphate is often used to treat reservoirs to reduce algal growth and has a lethal impact on fish, accumulating on the gills resulting in respiratory disruption. It is understood the polluter reported themselves to the Environment Agency at the time.

What was found: The discharge of ferric sulphate resulted in wild trout deaths, along with dead bullheads and minnows. The full extent of the damage is still unknown by the public as the case is still ‘ongoing’ and the Environment Agency have refused numerous requests for disclosure on the basis that disclosing anything relating to the case would adversely affect the course of justice.

Response

Three years on and still waiting to hear whether the Environment Agency will act against those responsible for this straightforward (but unacceptable) pollution. No explanation for the length of time this case is taking has ever been given.

Crediton Fly Fishing Club said:

‘’It is heartbreaking and extremely frustrating to experience a further pollution incident on our precious wild trout fishery in Crediton. Having been told by the Environment Agency they would be prosecuting in July 2017, every response from them in the last three years indicates they have no intention of doing so, while fobbing us off with weak excuses until we go away.”

The once crystal clear waters of the River Wye are now turning green with thick algal blooms (photo: Cite Ross Angling Club)

Agricultural pollution presents one of the greatest threats to water quality in the UK, being one of the main causes of rivers failing to meet ‘good’ ecological status. Unacceptable levels of phosphates are present in over half of English rivers due to pollution from farm land and sewage effluent, and in rural areas over 80% of nitrates in groundwater comes from agriculture. The difficulty with agricultural pollution is that there is no single source of pollution, rather a cumulation from several sources within a catchment.

Due to lack of resources, there are limited, if any, inspections currently being undertaken by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales to check whether land managers are complying with environmental regulations which require them to follow best practice near water. Coupled with this, there is inadequate monitoring to be able to detect when and where excessive nutrients are entering our waters.

The laws are already in place to tackle this issue, yet the Government has not provided the resources and staff to ensure they are enforced. As a key part of our Anglers Against Pollution campaign, we are asking the Government to do their regulatory duty and ensure law is properly monitored and enforced.

Background

The River Wye is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) protected for several fish species including lamprey, shad, salmon and bullhead. The last assessment of the status of the Wye was undertaken in 2013 and found that the river was failing to meet its water quality targets due to high phosphate levels. Since this assessment, levels of phosphate were expected to increase.

Phosphate and nitrates impact waters by causing an excess nutrient in the water (eutrophication) which leads to a loss of plants, replaced by algal blooms which reduce oxygen levels. This impacts spawning grounds as well as damaging plant and insect life within the water. Algal blooms are occurring high up within the catchment, 231km from the sea in areas where the river should have low nutrient levels.

The cause of the pollution is believed to be from an increase in the number of poultry farms in the Upper Wye catchment. Drains and ditches from these farms feed directly into the watercourse, and surface run off enables chicken faeces to enter the river.

Date of the incident: This case is not so much a single incident, but showcases a chronic, intensifying pollution event. The concern is that the loading of phosphate has increased to a level that is causing significant changes to the Wye which will cause a shift from a diverse, fish-rich system to a depleted system consisting of algal blooms and limited plant, insect or fish life. It is estimated there are as many as 10 million chickens in the Powys county.

What was found: The highest levels of phosphate (as collected from source apportionment of nutrients data from the Environment Agency) indicate that the source of the phosphates is from catchments where poultry farms are sited such as Ithon.

Response

Over 75,000 people have signed a petition calling for a halt to more chickens in Powys. Fish Legal have put Natural Resources Wales on notice that phosphate inputs into the River Wye linked to waste from free-range poultry farming have caused environmental damage. This case is ongoing.

Justin Neal, Fish Legal lawyer acting for the club, said:

“It is the responsibility of Natural Resources Wales to look after and protect this delicate river ecosystem. However, their monitoring system is woefully inadequate with monitoring occurring once a month at most, which just doesn’t work to catch the times when high levels of pollution are occurring after a rainfall event.”

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