How mayflies can help a polluted river recover
Talking with the fisher turned conservationist and citizen scientist Ron Wood plus local politicians speak on the River Swale sewage issue
Welcome! I’m Sarah Hartley and this is The Northern Eco newsletter. As you’ve received this newsletter then either you subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. If the latter, then you can click on this handy little button below.
But first………..
Greenpeace put Richmondshire on an international stage last week with this eye-catching protest at the MP’s country residence. What did you think of it? Cast a vote below.
Mayflies and river recovery with Ron Wood
When I get to our meeting point in the village of Gilling West, a couple of walkers are already engaging Ron in a lively conversation. They joke that they wouldn’t have known he was there until he spoke, so well is he camouflaged in his all over green clothing, cap and wellies.
I agree. Ron certainly looks as if he belongs at Skeeby Beck where he has spent many hours over the past few years maintaining the waterside banks and, previously, fly fishing.
But there’s no fishing any more and members of the angling group he formed shortly before the pandemic have hung up their rods. Instead, they are carrying out important monitoring of the water and the invertebrate life it contains as part of a citizen science project.
The group’s fly fishing activities were brought to an abrupt halt in April when a major pollution incident killed several thousand fish. While the Environment Agency (EA) is still investigating the cause of the pollution, Ron and his members have been getting busy.
The first training courses for Ron and about 20 volunteers keen to help monitor the health of the beck took place in July. The teams used large nets to trap insects from the sediment of the waterway at two separate sites.
The painstaking work means taking multiple samples and transferring the insects, such as stoneflies and mayflies, to trays for identification.
The species are recorded and different scores applied to them using a formula before results are uploaded to an app. This first testing of the beck provided them with a baseline score of 17. From now on, the group will do regular testing to see if the health of this tributary to the Swale can improve and eventually provide a habitat for fish again.
It’s likely to be a long process. While some fish can be re-introduced to the water - Ron says the EA released 1000 Grayling fry in June - the prized Swale trout is not farmed anywhere and so can not be repopulated. Ron thinks it will be several years before the group will be able to fish again so they will instead continue to carry out conservation work to improve the habitat for the insects, birds, otters and for the local people who enjoy walking its meandering path.
During our conversation, Ron’s mobile phone rings - his ringtone DA DOO RON RON! Seems a fitting accompaniment to the man who gets so much done.
If you’re interested in helping with Ron’s work, there’s a JustGiving page for donations here and the Gilling West Fly Fishers can be contacted here.
What are local politicians doing about the sewage pollution?
As we detailed last week [What will save the River Swale from sewage?], there were 3,455 sewage dumps in Richmondshire via storm drains and sewage farm discharges. I approached the MP for Richmond, Rishi Sunak and the leaders of each political group on the unitary authority for the area, North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC), to ask what they were doing about it. Although NYCC doesn't have direct responsibility for rivers, they do hold a very influential position and so can hold other other bodies, such as the Environment Agency (EA), to account. Here’s what the elected councillors had to say (listed alphabetically by surname):
Hipswell & Colburn division member Kevin Foster (Green group leader)
Attended the public Save Our Swale (SOS) meeting and will be supporting the SOS group’s bid for bathing water status when the application comes forward. He also detailed the wider actions the Greens had taken on the issue:“Arnold Warneken from the Green party group put a motion to council on the 19th of July that includes pollution in our rivers. That will be scrutinised by North Yorkshire County Council in the coming months you can read the Motion regarding water quality and associated improvements in, health, wildlife, biodiversity and economy on page 7 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Full Council, 19/07/2023 10:30 (northyorks.gov.uk)”
Liberal Democrat leader Bryn Griffiths: No response.
“We are working with both the EA and Yorkshire Water on this issue. At the last council meeting 2 motions were passed – one to support the River Nidd bathing quality project, widened to include all watercourses and the coast, and a review by one of our Scrutiny committees into just that. Once that review has taken place we will be in a better place to seek solutions.”
Note: The next Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Thursday, 19th October, 2023 10.00 am. To attend as a member of the public see here.
Richmond ward councillor Stuart Parsons (Independent group leader)
Raised an interesting point by suggesting that Yorkshire Water should make objections to the Council every time a large planning application is put forward until the sewage system has been improved enough to cope with the town’s expansion. He cited the proposed development in the Hurgill Road area of the town as a perfect example. The planning application for 29 Dwellings and 3 Self/Custom building plots is awaiting a decision but has already attracted 265 public comments and another 18 from official consultees.
Note: I put this to the water company. A spokesman said the company was legally obliged to provide connections to households:“Yorkshire Water is not a statutory consultee on housing development applications and unable to refuse connection to our network. We work closely with developers to implement measures to separate surface water and foul waste where possible, limiting the amount of additional wastewater entering the network.”
Labour group leader Steve Shaw-Wright
Working together with the other opposition parties on the issue which he said is “totally unacceptable.” He urged people to attend meetings and keep the pressure on.“Sending a letter doesn’t do anything, we need to make NYCC take action around the various environment enforcements. This is important for people and the environment.”
Rishi Sunak. No response.
Something to add to this?
In other news
"If I was trying to devise a policy that would essentially lead to the destruction of Yorkshire Dales national park, this would be the policy" says CEO of Yorkshire Dales - unusually strong reaction, but wdyt? [The Guardian]
Applications for grants of £10,000 to £50,000 opened on Saturday to plant thousands of trees to mark King’s coronation. [The Independent]
The best places for wildlife watching in Yorkshire [YorkshireBylines]
“Migrants fleeing climate catastrophe should be welcomed - with the money for walls and weapons invested in our essential services instead.” [Ecologist]
County Durham manufacturer Ebac is to introduce new range of heat pumps and dehumidifiers. [Northern Echo]
More by email next week but, if you can’t wait until then, please visit the notes section or join me in the chat.