OUR RIVERS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE WYE & USK FOUNDATION SPRING 2017 Contents RESTORING GRAVEL TO THE ELAN 6 HABITAT RESTORATION 9 How does it work? WATER ABSTRACTION 12 A new, more fish-friendly abstraction regime OUR WORK WITH FARMERS 14-19 The work of our advisors and the issues for rivers they are solving THE WHIP PROJECT 20 A ground-breaking project to correct diffuse pollution from agriculture WHERE NEXT FOR AGRICULTURE & 22 RIVERS? CLIMATE CHANGE 24 ACID WATERS 28 FISH PASSAGE 32 The latest on WUF’s work to restore access for migrating fish THE ARROW STORY 34 “Our Rivers” is The Wye & Usk Foundation’s newsletter, an e-newsletter, which is sent out every 1-2 weeks, updating usually published in the spring and designed in-house to you on what is going on in the Wye & Usk catchments. You keep costs to a minimum. Throughout the year our website can subscribe to this free service via our website provides more up-to-date information on our projects, mailer.wyeuskfoundation.org/subscribe consultations, catches and the fishing available through You can also follow us on Twitter (@wufoundation) and see the Passport scheme, along with previous editions of this the latest news via Facebook (facebook.com/WUFoundation/ magazine (www.wyeuskfoundation.org). In addition, we have or facebook.com/The-Fishing-Passport-248890818917434/) Front cover image: The Wye at Goodrich, courtesy of Adam Fisher 2 From Our Retiring Executive Director...... t was in the early ’90s that the idea of forming an good the progressive loss of the last 100 years. organisation to carry out much needed river restoration Itook shape. A declining salmon fishery occupied the As the trout returned so did numbers of salmon, grayling headlines but it was clear from even steeper declines in trout and other fish species. A marketing scheme (the Passport) and other species that the solution needed to go beyond has brought back anglers from all over the country, EU and chasing poachers, new byelaws and a salmon hatchery. There further afield bringing economic benefits to the area and were clear indications of serious environmental issues. For adding to the funding needed to maintain and continue the example, the Upper Irfon and top end of the Wye had no work. This year, 2017, promises to be better than last, which fish at all while the Lugg had lost its salmon run. There were itself was the best year for visitor numbers and catches. decreasing numbers of most species in the main river, which took longer to clear after a spate, showing the wide range of That, in 450 words, is a summary of my 21 years running the issues (acid rain, barriers and sedimentation) that needed to Foundation and I would like to thank in particular all those be addressed. owners and anglers who have regularly supported us and given so generously - Jordan Charitable Foundation, Whitley During hot and dry spells the river dropped to alarmingly Animal Trust, North Atlantic Salmon Fund, Esmee Fairbairn low levels. Algal blooms were the norm in late spring, Foundation, The Tubney Charitable Trust, National Rivers yet it wasn’t clear to everyone that we were facing an Authority, Environment Agency, Environment Agency Wales, environmental problem of both local and global origins. Countryside Council for Wales, English Nature, Natural There was no shortage of plans but it hadn’t yet dawned that England, Welsh Government, Defra, the Councils of Powys, carrying them out was the key part! Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Torfaen, Tarmac, Biffa, Sita and Sportfish…….and, of course, my trustees, friends and Into this environment the Foundation, with one part time colleagues too numerous to mention. employee and an enthusiastic volunteer, was unleashed. Initial efforts, small though they were, removed barriers to As this chapter of promising improvement closes, there fish migration and built minor fish passes that began the is no shortage of new threats to our two rivers’ fish and recovery. These were followed later by EU funded habitat ecosystems. Fish and fisheries are top for their useful restoration schemes and thereby a chance to scale up the contribution to our natural resources and local economies Foundation’s manpower and outputs. The turn of the century but always at the bottom of the pile for governmental heralded a scheme to buy off the estuary’s commercial concern. My plea is to remember that the results came from fisheries. Thanks to the generosity of Wye and Usk owners, actual delivery. If we lose our front line staff we will quickly North Atlantic Salmon Fund and others, the Wye and Usk find ourselves back at the early ‘90s. putchers ceased operation, along with 12 drift nets, for good. This was the point at which the Foundation’s remit expanded The role of Chief Executive passes to Simon Evans who to include the Usk. joined the Foundation in 2004. He inherits an organisation skilled in all areas of restoration, generous and supportive Subsequent years included projects that continued the stakeholders and partners, plus past successes. He also habitat restoration and fish passage, redressing the effects faces problems from economic and Brexit turmoil, climate of acid rain and farm diffuse pollution. Over 126km of change and unwanted development. I wish Simon and the poisonous Giant Hogweed has been eliminated, Knotweed is Foundation continued success. Please, please continue with on the way out too. Latterly, a redesign of how abstraction is your support. managed has stemmed the damage from low summer flows. Gravel has been re-introduced below the Elan dams, making Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith OBE 3 ………To Our New Chief Executive author and scholar, sums it up perfectly: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” Only a tiny fraction of the rain that falls on the 6,082km2 of the Wye and Usk catchments lands in the river channels. The rest makes its way into the rivers via two ways: it either sinks into the ground and slowly filters into the rivers sometime later or it runs quickly across the surface of the land into drains, ditches and streams. This difference is crucial and provides a choice between a regular, clean flow in our rivers or sudden extreme bursts of unfiltered water, contaminated with soil, phosphate and pesticides. n July last year I took over as Chief Executive of the Wye & Usk Foundation from Stephen Marsh-Smith, who had Taking a catchment approach is essential to solving issues Ibeen in the position since we formed in 1996. I would like such as water quality and water quantity and to do this we to thank Stephen and our trustees for their guidance and and NRW have brought together a wide ranging partnership support and for giving me the opportunity to take the helm of councils, governments (UK and Welsh), statutory bodies, of an organisation with such an impressive track record. I am water companies, farmers, foresters, businesses, charities also grateful for all the good wishes and messages of support and many others with an interest in the rivers to find I have received since the change was announced. consensus on the problems and their causes, agree the solutions and then deliver the required changes. Much of During WUF’s 21 year history, we have achieved more this work is detailed in the following pages but we’re proud practical river work than any other rivers trust in the country, to say that this approach has now been built into both Welsh something we are extremely proud of. The Foundation has and English Government strategy. We are working to develop always been a delivery organisation; one that is prepared to a similar partnership on the Usk in 2017. take on issues that fall within our charitable remit, get out there and do the work that is needed to restore and protect What will Brexit mean for the Wye and Usk? It is likely that the two rivers. This has set us apart from many of the other agricultural subsidies will change and we have to ensure we organisations in the environmental sector. are in a position to maximise the opportunities for the rivers. However, we don’t yet know the fate of two vital pieces A great strength of WUF has always been working with of EU legislation: the Water Framework Directive and the partners. In this way we have been able to “punch above Habitats Directive. It is telling that the representatives of our weight”. Delivery will remain our central tenet and water polluters are lining up to get rid of the former and that will become even more important in the future as funding Severn Tidal Power would love to see the back of the latter. for our statutory bodies’ fishery work is cut and they increasingly look towards partners to help achieve shared The impact of climate extremes has been brought into sharp objectives. focus with the widespread failure last winter of salmon to spawn successfully in many English and Welsh rivers, Focussing our attention specifically on problems within rivers including the Usk and English part of the Wye. This was most sounds obvious. However, it is just as important to recognise likely as a result of record breaking water temperatures that fisheries issues are wider than just the river corridor. and rainfall. We need to take steps now that will make our I’ve always felt a quote by Norman Maclean, the American catchments more natural and resilient to extreme climatic 4 events. Currently they are in no state to cope with a rainfall spend more of its time on rivers and less on bid writing and event less than half the severity of that experienced in the fundraising (see page 38 for more details).