As anglers, we’re always keen to hear about projects
promoting our local waterways and working towards improving the health of these
environments and the fish that live in them. After viewing some recent press
coverage on the Healthy Rivers programme and visiting the following website (http://www.wefundthevalleys.com/opportunities/healthy-rivers-sirhowy),
I have become increasingly interested in the work that the National Charity
Groundwork is currently undertaking along the Sirhowy River. Local to the area,
I decided to contact them to see if there was anything in the way of voluntary
work I could do to help. I was invited to the local Groundwork’s offices in
Blackwood to discuss the Healthy Rivers Campaign with project officer Hywel
Abbott and also to talk about the on-going river clean up plans for the river
Sirhowy.
For those unfamiliar with South Wales, the Sirhowy River
source begins at Cefn Pyllau-duon above Tredegar. After flowing through
Siôn-Sieffre's Reservoir it continues south through Blackwood and
Pontllanfraith. The river then stretches towards Cwmfelinfach joining the River
Ebbw near Crosskeys.
Hywel explained that the Healthy Rivers program is a project
run in conjunction with the South East Wales Rivers Trust and Environment
Agency Wales/Natural Resource Wales. It aims to co-ordinate the removal or
modification of barriers affecting fish migration, whilst encouraging the
engagement of local communities. As such this multi-headed strategy is designed
to promote the river locally, while assisting communities and local land owners
to create a navigable river for the native migratory species that currently
frequent the River Ebbw and previously the Sirhowy. Significant steps have
already been made and now that the weir at Pontllanfraith has been altered to
allow a migratory fish pass, Salmon have already been seen making their way up
the river!
The River Sirhowy is a small waterway in comparison to some
of the other Welsh waterways, and over recent years has been the subject of a
substantial amount of abuse, whether from the general public, land owners or local
companies dumping waste or altering its course. But things are changing, and
for the better. The water quality of the Sirhowy has drastically improved in
recent years, and with the continued efforts of the Groundwork team, along with
Natural Resource Wales, things are only going to improve. The reintroduction of
Salmon into the Sirhowy would provide a great indicator species, and if
successful, would be a testament to the hard work which has been put into restoring
one of South Wales’ neglected water ways.
The work that Groundwork has recently undertaken has been
incredibly time consuming and by the looks of it, incredibly heavy! The Charity
has successfully removed several abandoned cars from the river bed along the
Sirhowy valley, along with the usual rubbish that unfortunately finds into way
into rivers running through populated areas. Hywel also explained that the
Charity relies on the help of volunteers to assist with their plans. Although
they have some longer serving volunteers, I was surprised that more people in
the local area haven’t looked up the Charity and offered to help - Particularly
those who have a vested interest in the River itself.
I was then taken to see the remaining salmon fry which were yet
to be released. I was informed that the majority of their salmon stock had
already been introduced and that these little guys would be released with the
assistance of one of the local schools. The inner angler in me then started asking
questions about the introduction of other fish species (mainly coarse) and
whether that was a viable option for the future? For the time being Salmon are
the main focus, because of their circuitous life bringing them back to the area
following migration, they are a living litmus test for the viability and water
quality of the river system.
Hywel informed me that the Groundwork team would soon be
visiting a local site along the Sirhowy, to try to improve the water way by
removing a man-made bank structure and trialling some water calming methods
with the use of deflectors. This would provide a great opportunity to witness
the hard work that Groundwork consistently delivers; it would also give me a
chance to see how much the Sirhowy has changed from the murky stream I remember
from years ago.
If you are based in South Wales and are interested in volunteering
to help Groundwork with the Healthy River program please click here.
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