Beneath the surface: what's killing the River Wye (and your chance to do something about it)

EDIT: *petition closed*. Thanks to your support, we smashed our target of 100,000 signatures!
We are on a mission to rescue Britain's rivers. Help us hold the polluters to account by signing our petition today! 👉 bit.ly/RRivers (link in comments)
River Action is a small and agile campaigning organisation on a mission to rescue Britain's rivers from a toxic cocktail of agricultural, sewage and industrial pollution. We support community action, galvanise and mobilise public opinion, influence government policy, and call out destructive industrial practices to incentivise changes that end pollution.
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[@riveractionuk]

Link to our petition: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/restore-our-rivers-and-freshwaters-to-health-by-2030

[@MrPreston1179]

Keep up the great work, thanks. I picked up the petition link from the video description, and signed the petition. However, I noticed that the description said that it was 'in the comments'. You're right, but all the way down here! You should be able to pin the comment to the top, to make it easier to find @riveractionuk 👍

[@jungletiger1900]

I'm 73 and can remember the ponds, bluebell woods, reedbeds with the chalk streams, now all gone with the wildlife I used to enjoy, sadly we have low quality politicians with no conscience who care only for their jobs etc, its a great sadness to me as there are very rich and powerful people against protecting nature in this country now.

[@paulwhittaker5195]

Theresa Coffey should be arrested for not doing her job.

[@jaywalker3087]

For the wanton destruction of ecosystems!

[@davothefirst9371]

Give her 20 years !

[@hdog1180]

And the rest of her crew

[@NobleKorhedron]

Theresa who...? 🤔

[@DarrenJamiesonJamieson]

Jeremy is not helping to irradicate The E.A. (envy-ir-o-ment US Agency), but just making a few cheap (euros transfered into pounds)!

[@fieldsman3307]

I should also mention that at Dolanog on the upper Vyrnwy only 18months ago the Powys CC gave planning for another big chicken farm immediately adjacent to the river. There was a public meeting with the planners in the village hall and it resulted in 100% of the village voting against the proposal but PCC still let it go through., there was also a large amount of ancient woodland cut down to get power lines to it so clearly those in local government don't give a damn, I wonder just how may back handers took place to get it through.

[@leo5verling334]

That is so terrible, people need to stop eating chicken every meal, every sandwich.preferably stop altogether.

[@consciouslife170]

@@leo5verling334 yep, its terrible nutritionally, full of antibiotics and growth hormones...to make us ill.....people need educating

[@alexwatt569]

It's not just the wye, I have lived and fished along the river ribble in the northwest for nearly 20 years and the rivers wildlife and fish stocks has been decimated due to the increasing pollution and increase in mink an otter on the river. I'm afraid in another 5 years if nothing is done it will be too far gone. I have zero faith in the angling trust or the environment agency who's job it is to look after the rivers.

[@derekroberts8637]

I worked on an E.A. fish farm in the 90's for a brief period. The disinfectant used for equipment was flushed down the adjacent trout stream. One rule for thee.

[@b12n23]

Ive started to fish the ribble after a 25 year break. Ive noticed the stretches that was known for chub and dace are now infested with decent sized perch and pike both of which was a rareity back in the day. I put it down to the ribble link. Savik brook was once empty but now linked to the lancaster canal has plenty of small perch and pike. These are getting flushed into the ribble, upsetting the old balance of fish stocks.

[@kevinthomas5992]

Seems to be more pollution since the chicken farms all the way up the Wye

[@milkyporridge5929]

Same happening to Medway.

[@gonzo3915]

The Canal and Rivers Trust are responsible for the Canals and Rivers, lost 300 million of funding this year on going.

[@shauncorless8965]

Whats happened ,one word greed😮

[@troywales983]

the true problem is , no one gave a feck when the wye started to go down hill over 40 years ago ,i reported the problem back then ,no one took any interest , i was one of only 2 eel trappers on the wye and i have seen it from day to day getting worse until i stopped fishing because there was no bottom life left for fish to feed on , all so called river authorities where and are intersted is their wages at the end of each week .

[@anthonycrumb5753]

Great to see Jeremy on the case of our beleaguered rivers - with regard to "River Monsters" remember "If a fish stinks it stinks at the head first"

[@PaulDuckworth88]

Good comment

[@neilmchardy9061]

The river monster is the minister for the environment

[@BIGGGESTAL]

Water companies are still releasing sewage into every river in the UK. Corporate greed at its worst, MP's are the biggest shareholders.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Is it just phosphates, and nitrogen compounds from farming, or is it sewerage as well? Our government seems not to be very concerned about river pollution. Thanks for highlighting this.

[@derekroberts8637]

I studied fisheries biology in my youth. Sewage was what sprang to my mind. My small local rivers that feed the trent look exactly the same.

[@angleseyandy9110]

Indeed. They provide no data to back up this phosphate claim. And the woman interviewed just did the usual lefty thing about blaming underfunding and farming.

[@shaunwatson9212]

I'm sure they just took all the restrictions off house building deposits into rivers

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

If sewage were to blame then certain truths would have to be faced, such as rapid population growth and the asset stripping of the water companies over the last 20 years by foreign, mainly EU companies. Add in a regulatory body that spends more on itself than it does on the rivers, and it is hardly surprising the rivers are choking. The companies are unable to raise the capital for new sewage works or improvements in treatment, their assets have been stripped, whilst more and more people produce more and more sewage. It is not a lack of funding but an unwillingness on the part of the regulator to actually act. They'd rather moan about magnet fishers, who expose their incompetence, or spend millions on environmentally friendly campaigns that achieve nothing than clean the rivers. They are just another slither of the Establishment that over feeds off the State. Time for reform.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

@@I_Don_t_want_a_handle Very well put.

[@uncensored5104]

More chickens are being bred and farming increases around the UK is down to over population .5% every year, this puts a strain on everything.

[@DrewWithington]

That's just complete rubbish. The population of the UK in 1970 was 55 million, now it's 67 million. That's 240,000 more people per year. You are just anti-immigrant i.e. r@cist.

[@Spiffin84]

An you an I are part of that population 🤷‍♂️ , what do you suggest , sterilisation of everyone on the planet then use factories to produce offspring controlled by A.I after a huge cull targeting the old an weak , those who can't work an the drains on society ...... if you don't want that then you might want to come up with a better alternative before shouting about over population like ever person does even though they are part of the problem , myself included 😉

[@markmonaghan2309]

100% agree , intensive farming needs a lot more regulation major problem. But also the human waste is going into the river. Not a nice thing to talk about.

[@prometheus_beard]

Awesome Jeremy Wade is involved! I'm often on or next to the Wye and have seen what you mention here, especially last October 2022, as you see in my first video, it was extremely low level and I had to walk a lot of it in the water and the riverbed was just coated in green slime and any areas it wasn't moving was just foamy and between Sellack and Ross there was and has been since, white foam on the water. There's a few pipe outlets into the river visible on that stretch and I have no idea what it is. I love the wye and always collect litter I see on or off the water and feel really depressed and angry that it's being allowed to deteriorate like this, especially with so much wildlife like kingfishers and otters about. Absolutely needs sorting out ASAP. It's not just the environmental impact, but the river Wye is huge for the economy all along the river and if it gets much worse, nobody will visit and communities will suffer. I'll add your channel to my own page, to try and support your efforts. Thanks.

[@gar6446]

I used to fish the Wye regularly, it was most absolute favorite river, the vatiety os species you might catch was wonderful and specimen fish were abundant. This so sad to see, i had no idea this had happened. Where i live now theres a fresh spring where crystal clear water which its estimated fell as rain 2000 years ago emerges. 90% of it is captured and pumped into the municipal water supply, the remainder runs into a brook teeming with minnow, brown trout and many lavae fry and insects. This entire eco system only goes around 300mts till it meets the border of a huge dairy, where it simply stops, tuned into an open sewer for slurry from cows that eventually runs into the Severn.

[@pussypostlethwaitsaeronaut8503]

It's spelt favourite in English, not the Americanised 'favorite'. xx

[@hesalovelybuoy5944]

that's terrible

[@LurchLures]

About 10 years ago I spent a few days kayaking on the Trent. The river smell reminded me of the filter on my washing machine and below the waterfall there was a fluffy layer of dirty foam bubbles.

[@robholt8333]

It's the same across the country. An absolute disgrace! I've lived on the Welsh Dee my entire life and being an avid fisherman I've witnessed its decline and it's heartbreaking!

[@colincox1716]

Fantastic to see people pulling together to save our rivers from pollution , BUT our seas are also in a serious state of pollution as the rivers end up there .

[@adriaanboogaard8571]

Keep up the good work Education and public awareness goes a long way.

[@derekroberts8637]

My local Trent tributaries are looking very similar. Something is afoot. Big chub, perch and roach are dissapearing. Blanket weed seems to be taking over.

[@ianrobertson9744]

The government don’t care about environment or people just in money and business I don’t think any government in this country will be any different, I have fished rivers all my life and bit by bit they have deteriorated there’s no fly life , I used to fish the Dee at Llangollen and hatches of sedges used to be in my eyes and ears but when I stopped there was no fly life. Regards Ian from Merseyside

[@lincslegend6936]

Well done to all involved in trying to protect our rivers.

[@stoicsceptic8420]

Uk population has increased by 20% in the last 20 years. NHS beds have reduced by 33% from 240,000 to 160,000 in the same period - notice any diminution in health services lately? Have we increased infrastructure generally to accommodate this increased population - I think not. Let’s demonise food production , without addressing the underlying causes of these problems. Ideologs.

[@mrhuxley68]

The river Severn also needs sorting. :(

[@WyeExplorer]

I've walked and sawm it my whole life and am heart broken over it. My head sinks when I see it. Consumer demand is the route of it and the desire to increase that demand and market share. Greed springs to mind. Peace from the Wye Valley.

[@motuekarewaka5145]

It just breaks the heart to se the destruction of our rivers. Its not rocket science to see what and who is destroying them whats worse is the complicit government departments. The level of in your face corruption today is very upsetting.

[@robertwedd1111]

The Wye is a beautiful river. Good luck with securing its future and getting it cleaned up 👍

[@baldyslapnut.]

There is no 'somewhere else'. But big business treats anywhere as such if it can maintain their profits. We expect 'cheap everything' at the point of purchase but don’t factor in all the hidden costs that accrue. Labour may not reinstate the missing regulatory infrastructure willingly, but now is the time to hold their feet to the fire in anticipation of a change of government.

[@S.Trades]

Great work, Jeremy! Top man!

[@myworld8266]

This is the problem with all UK rivers, our waterways are dying - chemical pollution , fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides in run off from agricultural land, run off from roads, sewage discharges from the water companies illegally dumping raw sewage directly into river and their tributaries (many thousands of illegal discharges per year), building on flood planes, introduction of none native species (Zander, Barbel, Catfish, Crayfish Japanese knot weed and many others). It is not only the rivers themselves that are dying but also the lose of flora and fauna along the river banks. The river banks are dying the rivers are chocking and dying. We are allowing the poisoning of the very waters we DRINK.

[@anthonybutt2453]

Whilst cycling Lands End to John O'Groats in 2000, we just happened to cycle through the Wye & Hope Valley.. I've never seen anything so beautiful & unexpected in the UK. It was like we'd been transported back in time, as there were no visible electricity pylons or telephone lines, & the whole surrounding area, as far as my eyes could see, appeared to be like something from the 10 Century, completely unspoiled, with zero litter or graffiti, & totally pristine. Ever since, I've been telling anyone that would listen that this area was a hidden jewel, & possibly the UK's best kept beauty spot secret! So to hear now that this disgrace has been allowed to happen saddens me to the core. Although I shouldn't really be surprised, as there's an obvious agenda (for those with eyes to see & ears to hear) to destroy everything that's beautiful, pure & good in our world. In other words, it's not by accident. It's by design. We need to hold those responsible to account. Name & shame them all. Even refuse to pay Council taxes en mass, & then we'll see if the local Govt continues to refuse to do the job we extortionately pay them to do. Good luck & Godspeed with your appeal. 👍

[@ericrawson2909]

I cycled down the wye valley in the rain, over forty years ago. Like you I thought it was very beautiful. Never forgotten.

[@native-american9049]

If you constantly spray crops with weedkillers and pesticides it runs off into the river as does the false fertilizers used and the soil from constant tiling of the land

[@simbob_2838]

I'd like to see a unified effort for the UK, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Our lakes and rivers are under severe threat because of the negligence of the powers that be. Angler or not we should all come together to try and save our waterways.

[@paulgough6120]

My local rivers sirhowy and Rhymney rivers are being devastated by abandoned minewater pollution which is slowly turning stretches of the rivers orange :(

[@carlwaine5263]

It is the same on the Vyrnwy and Banwy in mid Wales. Full of algae sludge, a distinct lack of invertebrates and fish of all sizes. We have noticed a huge decline in fish numbers over the last 20 years or so to the point where we are lucky to catch anything, however small, when before we were catching 2lb plus grayling and wild trout. Shocking.

[@mattwright2964]

It's all over the UK now. Streams and rivers are being used as drains for industrial style farming.

[@fieldsman3307]

Carl I just put up a comment before seeing yours, this last season has seen a dramatic drop in fish numbers and fly hatches

[@GMT439]

Proof of all CLAIMS Required.

[@karlwatkins2331]

Keep going with this I'm a fisherman myself 👊💯

[@timdougall5415]

Well done Jeremy!

[@robshaw3655]

about 30 years ago on the upper severn we had lovely streamer weed over clean gravel, the streamer weed all but disappeared. We have the algae coating on the stones but dont know since when. Might be interesting to see if the level of flooding has increased during the last 20 or 30 years. or the reverse..if there have been longer periods of low water that might concentrate phosphates plus add light. The data should be there on the river level sites.

[@mattwright2964]

This has been building for decades right across the UK. As an angler I've seen it at first hand but are we that surprised. We are using rivers as drains for industrial farming. Rivers are complex catchments of many small streams. Most of the land feeding all this has been drained with pipes under fields going into our waterways and then the land has been piled up with crap and chemicals thay feeds into our rivers. Farming has become an industrial enterprise in which there are no costs for pouring the effluent of intensive processes into convenient drains (our streams and rivers). Its a national disgrace.

[@Reelsofeels]

Thanks for helping to spread this message Jeremy. We must remember to question where our produce is coming from. Is the chicken you’re eating coming from a battery farm that’s potentially polluting its surrounding and allowing poor living conditions for the animals themselves.

[@onlycatclay3093]

I worked on a free range egg farm for 3 years, and I can assure you that it is no less ugly than a battery farm. In some ways it's worse as the birds are able to attack and peck each other; sometimes to a slow death by bleeding. Free range is just the egg industries way of reinventing itself after consumers were concerned about battery farms. The truth is that there is no form of commercial animal agriculture that does not involve horrendous suffering to the animals on a mass scale. As consumers we have to decide if we are going to turn a blind eye or make more ethical and compassionate choices.

[@Reelsofeels]

@@onlycatclay3093 thanks for educating me!

[@Oystersgetclamydia]

Chem trails all night around my home in St Helens,esp so in the rainy days n nights. Dead and dying fish, hardly any butterflies or moths,earwigs and crane flies, sparrows,tits, blackbirds and starlings are numbering less and less. We are on large estates surrounded by farmed land and never see conventional crop spraying over last two or three years.

[@bigounce941]

Its the same in the severn, i fish the severn and have had it where sewage has been dumped and it gets caught on your line and the smell is horrific on the banks.

[@maxflight777]

I know the river well around Hay. This video is particularly upsetting. A pat on the back for those involved in it.

[@g-man4297]

Same here in Scotland as a boy growing up in the 60's and 70's the rivers where full of invertebrates and fish and natural water weeds, now it's a rare sight to see on most major rivers, fish stocks have plummeted and wildlife and once common birds are now rare and living in isolated spots far away from intensive farming. Doubt the government cares too much.

[@Sustainashave]

Its the same where i live the Ouse in bucks, hardly any fish at all and there was loads as a child..

[@Enochthegreat71]

Very sad indeed.

[@narcissusecho7469]

The use of reedbeds, wetland buffer strips along the rivers and waste management on the farms can holistically absorb nitrates and phosphates without costing a fortune, they will also mitigate flood risk. What Netherlands is doing to it's farmers is disgusting and I would hate to see that happen here in the UK. Nitrates are a valuable resource in agriculture lets treat them as such so we can reduce the amount of natural gas derived nitrates used in chemical fertilizers.

[@lusiscus]

I'm a match angler and for the last few years the river has been fishing it's head off so the fish population isn't suffering.

[@peetsnort]

The farmers ploughing downhill instead along the contours. The famous oak church strawberry farm is a good example of bad ploughing. Every time we get some heavy rain the roads run red with the top soil erosion. If the water had time to seep slowly into the soil the waterways could cope.

[@mitchell1804]

Pretty much every river in Scotland looking like this now

[@mattwright2964]

Yeah, the tendency for industrial farming is spreading to Scotland, in places where it didn't happen before. I've fished all over the UK for nearly 40 years. Intemsive practices are destroying our rivers and wildlife. I used to drive upto Scotland to fly fish by the time I arrived my car was literally covered in dead flies. Now virtually nothing. We are destroying our environment.

[@asonofharoldgodwin]

Same on the Eden ! Nothing more than a open sewer in summer !!!

[@KumaBean]

I used to swim and fish the Wye, I also learnt to kayak on it in Hereford, it was a stunning river back in the 90’s when I was living in the UK, this news is saddening, but not overly surprising. 🍻

[@tomgarrett7567]

Used to fish the wye a couple of years ago private stretch the barbel fishing was incredible at times with 15-20 fish per evening being the norm this has gone on for 6 years then last year they just disappeared this explains a lot what a shame

[@Kingcarparpeggio]

Otters.

[@tomgarrett7567]

@@Kingcarparpeggio yeah could be but we’ve always seen otters there since we started fishing there I guess numbers might have increased over the years I am hearing the whole of the wye was poor last year and this year

[@grahvis]

@@Kingcarparpeggio . Otters are just one part of a healthy river. To blame them is suggesting, in the past, rivers did not hold a good population of fish.

[@TheRealColt]

All the rivers in the northeast of England look exactly like that. Pick a stone out and it’s covered in algae growth

[@michaelmarsh-bl9mg]

The link doesn't work

[@garyt.8745]

What a surprise! Austerity is killing our rivers as well as our people, our economy, etc. 🤦

[@paulstreesofwalthamabbey2007]

This is happening in ALL our rivers according to friends and family I know across the U.K. is it deliberate!? !!

[@FDGRebel]

similar to lough neagh is northern ireland very recently only the UK mainland actually has a government to petition. Our government does not exist and pollution goes unchecked

[@fishypie]

i have fished the upper seven sinse the early 80s and my god iv seen its changes, 30 years ago salmon parr were a pest fish and minnows were by the millions. now your lucky to catch 3 parr in a week .we used to walk across in parts over the crows foot weed, now there is none. the severn is a poor sick river

[@flybobbie1449]

I fly over the Severn most weeks, sometimes daily. Most of the time it's a sandy brown colour, with now regular flood waters.

[@derekroberts8637]

@@flybobbie1449 if you look on Google earth our rivers all look a funny brown colour. The vegetation shows it must be summer at the time of the photo's being taken.

[@BlackCountryPiker]

Absolutely shocking

[@888ssss]

i would like to move knottweed around the country. just to see how far it spreads ?

[@markevans7269]

So sad😭 I love fishing🎣🎣 🐟🐟the river wye its a beautiful river

[@richardh8082]

💙

[@robertjones-yo4ql]

OVERPOPULATION

[@davidprocter3578]

Have to say that back in 1976 during the heatwave a group of us cooled off swimming in the upper reaches of the Wye, the water wiffed of cow dung and so did we for several days, Agricultural pollution particularly from cattle has been a problem for decades in the Wye I don't suppose it would have taken too much to tip the balance.

[@Goldenhawk583]

Dont blame the cattle, blame the methods used for getting the manure onto the fields.

[@davidprocter3578]

@@Goldenhawk583 I was not blaming the cattle, not sure there was much in the way of muck spreading going on . but if you remember the summer of 76 was hot and the riverside meadows were grass growing monsters, the Italian ryegrass was shooting up faster than the cattle could eat it, the farmers along that stretch of the river were taking full advantage, both dairy and beef herds were munching grass and fighting flies. all seemed to have full access to the river, with the odd strand of barbed wire to prevent movement up or down stream. Needless to say the dung was loose and due to the constant grazing was in a state of heavy supply. add in the summer thunder storms and the cattle standing in the river to cool off you can imagine the state of the water luckily the water there fairly fast flowing avoiding the open sewer look.

[@Goldenhawk583]

@@davidprocter3578 no I dont remember, I am not british, and I was under 15 at the time:) I can see how that would be a difficult summer tho, and could probably have been dealt with better. Today, slurry is spread all over, and if it is not absorbed fast enough, there will be problems. I addition there are artificial fertilizers as well. we need to learn better methods to protect our nature. Like in the example you gave, if hay had been used besides grazing, there would be less loose manure.

[@davidprocter3578]

@@Goldenhawk583 Back in the seventies dairy units were struggling to survive most were small farms milking under a hundred cows. I suspect the farmers were taking advantage of the copious meadow grass because their other pastures were burnt off or they were saving them for late hay or silage. Feeding hay to bind would not have been considered, cost being the major factor many farmers were loosing money on every gallon of milk due in the main to high winter feed costs for concentrates, one of the draw backs of switching breeds to Friesians and Holsteins. The thing with traditional meadow systems is that not only are they well watered in summer they are fertilized twice one by the livestock and two by the winter floods also must be remembered that the west of the British isles usually gets plenty of summer rain lush riverside meadows were a common sight back then.

[@Goldenhawk583]

@@davidprocter3578 Thank you for giving me a better picture of it all. And I believe, and have for a long time, that we have modernized too far. Like you mentioned, cattlebreeds that are extremely high yeilding in milk, but also known to be less than good moms. They depend on modern feed, not like heritage breeds who can actually get what they need from pasture and winter hay alone. We do need to revert to more sensible times...

[@TheSuperTrickey]

It saddens my heart, and grieves me greatly, that the people with influence and control in this country, are so objectively selfish and immortal, deluded, and untouchable whilst they are allowed to remain in control. The whole system needs scrapping.

[@eamonncoady9823]

Same problems here in ireland.

[@user-dj4dl9pi7m]

I fished the Gade in Croxley Hertfordshire ,from 8-9 yrs old in the late 70s. Up until the late 90s. Went back in 2010 and did nit catch a thing. Found out later a company leaked some sort of poison into it and killed all the fish. When you have 20-30 yrs of memories , its hard to take. Seems this is all over the place now. We did nothing though when they agreed to pump shxt into our rivers. How and why they passed the law is beyond me. Also as a surfer , the surfers spent 30 years pushing to clean the sea........for what ? None of the MSM really covered it either.........no surprise .

[@humptydumpty9177]

60% of Europe's rivers and lakes and severely contaminated, it's heart braking but it's what overcrowding brings I'm afraid.

[@jjb539]

Its not just the wye the whole of the uk's waterways are in trouble

[@davian68]

There is a requirement for low cost food in the UK and it could still be produced in the wye catchment area, Just ship out the manure to other areas, Phosphates are expensive to apply to land when needed but farmers are just like any other business in that they are nearly always going to go down the cheap and easy route, having been in agriculture for 50 years don't believe for one minute that farmers are struggling

[@welshboys3033]

Nearly all the rivers in west Wales, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and now Ceredigion are also affected by a different agri practice. It's primarily a different pollution, more flash,defuse pollution's, due to heavy rainfall. With quite a lot of point source as well. This system of agri creates a huge boost to rural economy. No one wants that to end.

[@garymcguire8529]

Dump the costs on to polluters, and add a buffer zone of reed beds.

[@Evilzionistbabykillers]

Why are these industries allowed to polute the waterways 😩

[@danfox1458]

The main cause of it is the waste that leads up to a high level of nitrite and nitrate and phosphate, that leads to algae plumes in turn that kills the eco system leading to poor water

[@turokforever007]

Governments want to get rid of farms. Also, the rivers have been dying for a long time for many reasons.

[@cliveclerkenville2637]

I fished the Wye below Ross about ten years ago. The water was clear, and the ranunculus growth was magnificent. And, on a hot cloudless day, I caught a hatful of barbel. Just saying.

[@alexandergrey5913]

Happening throughout the South West! The Exe is disastrous!😭 With all the extra properties built we’re taking to much water no matter how you save! Levels are so low they’re dying from as early as March/Apry😭😭😭😭

[@tonybaker55]

Write to your MP and complain. Afterall, they are the people who should be discussing this at Westminster and other parliamentary buildings. I don't watch TV all day to find out if this has been discussed or not. Monitoring by taking water samples is essential. Why did they slash the budget for the environment so much? HS2 comes to mind.

[@Goldenhawk583]

How about turning the fields along the river into pasture land for cattle and other ruminants. Rather than spraying them with slurry, the manure would be trodden down into the soil, and not get washed off and into the river. The fields themselves would get healther, with deeper plantroots, and meat might be a bit cheaper , allowing people to eat better.

[@jayquinn3701]

Where do all our taxes go? Another government fail. I see kids in the Wye in the summer, if their parents only knew. The Wye is my favorite river by far, it seems the most untouched by man left in England. A real shame.

[@stevesmith9015]

Our taxes go to the Tory party’s friends and donors

[@coraliemattys]

So they’ve followed the advice “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” and the chicken s**t has come home to roost!!

[@logohigh1]

cheap meat init ! , at the cost of the environment . Only solution is to stop eating meat

[@fieldsman3307]

Sadly it's the same everywhere , I live in mid wales and the Severn is very polluted to the point of being toxic , the Vyrnwy and the Banwy are similar both having freestone beds and whereas 40 yrs ago you could see the colour of every stone the bed is now just a uniform brown sludge. The only time this will cease is when our rivers are dead and lifeless and then the government of the day will order an inquiry and the only thing that will achieve is to line the pockets of already "fat cats".

[@goboe1014]

And they expect people to pay for fishing licenses? I’m pretty sure everyone who pays for a license is paying so this stuff doesn’t happen, I won’t ever be paying for a license again

[@Michael020]

What do they do with all the money from fishing licences?

[@angleseyandy9110]

Question. Its all well and good stating it is phosphates, but i dont see you give any test results showing that to be the case, and any previous data. Why?

[@angleseyandy9110]

@@paulhiggins6024 what?

[@mattwright2964]

Numerous test have been done for years. Scientists know what the problem is and have told Govts. Nothing is done. End of.

[@angleseyandy9110]

@@mattwright2964 cool. Show a recent test result of the Wye then please. If there is a claim being made in a concerted way by people on this video, I want to see the data to back it up. Otherwise it's just speculation. Thank you in advance for providing the evidence

[@chrisguygeezer]

River Great Ouse is in a similar position, but with heavier abstraction and predation

[@DarrenJamiesonJamieson]

How comesxrecord size fish get caught in that river then?

[@chrisguygeezer]

@DarrenJamiesonJamieson years ago. Ouse record 2006, Ivel record 2010. All those fish were predated on and the spawning shallow gravels are coated in algae now.

[@rodgie84]

The river usk in South wales is the same.

[@cuttlefishpie3731]

Same shit in Lake Winnipeg

[@mattt1212]

Is there anything in this country that hasn't been ruined in the last 13 years?!

[@DarrenJamiesonJamieson]

Jeremy has missed the point: Changing British Jungle for envy-ir-o-ment (Envy-ir-o-ment US Agency, E.A). not going to keep anything clean is it (Me and Justin Harrington decided to start putting litter in the bins, back in the 1980s, because we kept getting thrown off the gravel pit by the).

[@scoobydoo5164]

Water privatisation is the problem greed for the shareholders shit for the public

[@saudade2745]

Its awful and disgusting we are only moaning about this recently, and only moaning as it needed action years ago. Coupled with the raw sewage rivers are dead already and just wait until all the hazardous waste that is buried near rivers leaches over the next few decades. What has been done to our rivers and poisoning freshwater is one of the biggest mistakes future generations will have to deal with. Those responsible most should be dealt with in a way im not allowed to describe online as apparently thats the real crime in todays world.

[@jonmichael6478]

Bad management and funds going else where, it will only gey worse as the population grows. There will be a cap on what you can do to protect the rivers, demand is the real issue, more food more pollution.

[@trueybru]

The blackwater, a tributary of the Thames in Berkshire, my local river, has been decimated by pollution and the careless dumping of farms and Thames water. A once thriving water way now desolate of fish. The trout.. gone.. the barbel.. gone.. barring the odd larger specimen. The tench.. gone. My father visited for the first time in 20 years and his words were… ‘dead just utterly dead’.. such a shame and the people are waking up!!!

[@i_like_to_move_it_move_it]

The ultimate river monsters......the government

[@PapaTube-ep1nk]

There is a huge human population on this little Island of ours, just funding environmental geeks will not solve the problem, mass immigration from EU open borders and the 3rd world by Tony Blair and successive Westminster and Union Governments, creating mass house and industrial building, adding billions more tons of raw sewage, storm drains from new homes and industry our outdated sewage plants cannot cope, intensive farming to feed a growing by the hour Island Nation is all a recipe for disaster to our Rivers, Fish and Wildlife. Protect our British Greenbelt and Farmland at all cost, Stop all immigration now !

[@julieutting4620]

Totally agree it is the cause of most problems in the uk and will probably destroy the uk and turn us into a third world.

[@baldyslapnut.]

Do you source sustainably produced food or even grow your own? If you do well done, if not, why not? Immigration is not the cause. The expectation of the lowest cost above all else for a significant proportion of consumers drives this along with corrupt politicians in hock to big business. You can easily change that.

[@ludo9234]

​@@baldyslapnut.Immigration certainly carn't help the situation can it. Thousands of houses be built built on farmland all over the country. More people more food, more fertiliser. More pollution. Time to deport many thousands before something far worse happens.

[@baldyslapnut.]

@@ludo9234 Immigration is essential. Not letting immigrants work legally and contribute certainly can't help the situation, can it? When the state pension was introduced, there were 12 workers per pensioner. Currently, there are 2 workers per pensioner, and the population is getting older. Houses aren't being built for immigrants ffs. That is just corporate greed, and the government is complicit in it. Stick to the facts of the video, too many intensive poultry operations in too small an area. Not enough regulatory infrastructure to quantify or monitor and then enforce existing environmental legislation. I suggest you stop watching GB news or reading the Daily Fail / Express and look at the real data surrounding immigration.

[@derekroberts8637]

@@ludo9234 it's the extra toilets flushing that our treatment plants can't handle that seem to be a major factor. Farming practices haven't changed much to my knowledge. If anything, land has been given up for so called re-wilding and renewable energy.

[@Yorkie263]

Maybe (my own) the simplistic solution to this would be to allow the EA to keep all of the money from fines and thereby self fund. It would be in their own interest to find the polluters and take them to court. At the same time they could enforce rod licences and fine poachers etc. Once a few of the water companies got fined a couple of million things might change.

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

They would then find any old excuse to fund and still not do the job. They are not fit for purpose. The whole senior management need sacking and a new one appointed. A new one that puts the rivers first, not their own salaries.

[@MrFelipefelop]

Dont be a mug geezer,the EA and the government rod licence thing just funds more people in offices with mgmt titles,nobody has the handle on how much farmers make,every single one of them say there skint,its corporate business,the nfu,are more than happy to offer opportunities to take your money,yet they fund hundreds of offices to not do anything about its claims,but push them into the law courts,which can take 10 years,most give up,sick to the stomach

[@CJArnold-hq3ey]

Seen it here in South Oz a sewerage treatment plant into a Pristine Tidal creek / river to a Estuary then into Spencer Gulf 👎👎👎👎👎👎

[@jamesford5177]

Super markets are to blame, cheap food comes at a price

[@mattwright2964]

Definitely part of the problem. There is no such thing as cheap meat. Meat is an animal that has to be cared for in an environment. That is not cheap. All part of the issue.