Save The Wye Coalition

MANIFESTO FOR THE WYE With the general election due 4 July, today we unveil our urgent plan to #SavetheWye. This has been created by our network of local groups and is based on the best scientific understanding of the problems the river faces. 🧵 👉wyemanifesto.org

The Welsh Rewilding Alliance has launched today, sharing a vision for 'a wilder Wales where nature thrives, rural economies prosper, and we all have better access to wild landscapes' nation.cymru/news/welsh-rew…

Sir James Bevan spent 8 years at the Environment Agency and oversaw the decimation not only of the agency but every river in the country. He's recently reappeared again on the boards of Welsh Water and the Canal and Rivers Trust. The man is not fit to handle this week's shopping list never mind run an organisation especially a water company.

Ambitious about being green, @LidlGB? Then it’s time to back farmers to transition to nature-friendly farming practices. Agriculture is the largest source of pollution in UK rivers - but it doesn’t have to be this way. Lidl continues to use the @RedTractorFood label to reassure shoppers that their food meets environmental standards. But did you know that it was ruled that @RedTractorFood misled shoppers with its environmental claims - with over 60% of inspected Red Tractor farms not compliant with environmental rules? Meanwhile, others are showing what’s possible. Initiatives like First Milk’s work in the Cleddau - supporting grazing systems that improve soil health and protect rivers - are already making a difference. So, will @LidlGB #UpYourStandards and unlock the finance farmers need to support this transition? ... 📢 TAKE ACTION ⬇️⬇️ Behind the @RedTractorFood logo, pollution of the UK’s rivers continues. Tell your supermarket to call out Red Tractor and lead the way for robust environmental standards on their products: bit.ly/3J5PhDP #RescueOurRivers

"Clearly government is now complicit in presiding over one of the greatest acts of criminality and lawbreaking that we’ve witnessed in the modern world in this country. The truth is, government needs to start bringing criminal charges against the executives and boards of those water companies that were knowingly, wilfully disregarding the law.”. Me speaking to @thetimes thetimes.com/uk/environment…

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded funding from @HeritageFundUK to investigate the decline of water crowfoot in the River Wye and River Usk. We hope our work will help efforts to recover this key species. Read all about it: friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk/news/heritage-…

What can be done to save Lough Neagh & the many water bodies choking with algae & poisoned with pathogens? Watershed's @RachSalv talks sewage, slurry & antibiotic resistant genes with @PennyJohnes on this week's BBC Rare Earth: share.google/g1JBhcU5rBLEqX…

I test 2 points on the Arrow with my neighbour. CitSci data suggests this brook (Southall) is one of the worst across the catchment for P & N. There are decent sections of ranunculus midway ( here’s a pic where the brook runs through our fields) which I’m hoping will hold on.

📣 🇫🇷 France debates rights for the Seine: On February 20, 2026, Senator @RemiFeraud introduced a bill to grant legal personality and specific rights to the Seine River, the first time a French river enters Parliament as a rights-holder. It has now been referred for first reading

"Welsh Water set to pay out £44.7m over sewage spills Ofwat said it found “serious and unacceptable” breaches in Welsh Water’s sewage works systems and operations." And here's the really scary part in all of this, none of this, none of it would have come to light had it not been for you, the general public, you're the heroes in all of this, the ones that stand in our rivers, that are prepared to be counted, that are prepared to hold authority to account. My respect. 👏👏👏 independent.co.uk/news/business/…

How can the Secretary of State for Environment not be aware that according to the Office for Environmental Protection, the Environment regulators she presides over broke the law ?

💧 Clean water shouldn’t be controversial. Right now, you can help protect our rivers, lakes and seas in just 2 minutes by writing to your MP. 👉 Take action here: wcl.org.uk/clean-water-no… #CleanWater #RiverWye #ProtectOurRivers #CPREHerefordshire #CountrysideForAll

"More than half a million tonnes of sewage sludge spread on Scotland's fields." Sewage sludge can contain, amongst other things, forever chemicals (PFAS), dioxins, and microplastics. That's why the Dutch burn it, not spread it on fields and allow all that stuff it back into the food chain. In Scotland however? theferret.scot/tonnes-sewage-…

Our latest newsletter is out featuring opportunities to work with us, plus C4 drama Dirty Business (bravo @WindrushWasp), legal challenges on the Wye taken by @RiverActionUK and @FishLegal_ and more… Please subscribe if you don’t already! mailchi.mp/69987df9d60b/m…

Would you like to work with Friends of the River Wye? We’re recruiting for 3 different part-time roles. If you’re passionate about cleaning up our rivers and determined to make a difference, we want to hear from you. friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk/news/were-hiri…

Read our response to the DWPP from last year here:

“The EA’s own plan accepts that the Wye will not recover under current approach. When law requires action, regulators cannot simply acknowledge failure & postpone hard decisions yet again. After years of delay & continuing damage to a protected river, that is no longer lawful.”

Fish Legal launches Judicial Review which targets the River Wye Diffuse Water Pollution Plan, published by EA at end of 2025. This is great news 💪 fishlegal.net/2026/03/05/env…

“The EA’s own plan accepts that the Wye will not recover under current approach. When the law requires action, regulators cannot..postpone hard decisions yet again. After years of delay & continuing damage..that is no longer lawful.” ⁦@FishLegal_⁩ 💪 fishlegal.net/2026/03/05/env…

Today, full legal protection has been granted in Wales and beavers are recognised as a native species by the @WelshGovernment. This brings Wales in line with Scotland & England, ensuring cross-border consistency. Find out more 👇 1/4 beavertrust.org/historic-momen…

“This isn’t an abstract policy debate. This is our home.” For years, local people have watched the Wye deteriorate: toxic algae blooms, disappearing wildlife, water that no longer feels safe. Every summer, the water turns thick and green - fuelled by excess nutrients from intensive poultry units in the Wye catchment. More chickens mean more manure, and when that manure spreads on already saturated land, it washes into the river. In November 2025, Natural Resources Wales approved three new poultry unit expansions, but failed to consider where manure goes once it leaves the farm boundary.  So we've taken legal action to challenge them. Because pollution doesn’t stop at the farm gate - and regulation shouldn’t either. #SaveTheWye #RescueBritainsRivers