THE Voice of the River Wye is now represented on the Wye Catchment Nutrient Management Board following a successful recruitment campaign.

The management board brings together local stakeholders to influence, advise and challenge proposals, plans, decisions and actions that have an impact on the River Wye, and those that deliver improvements.

Earlier this year, the board took the unusual step of creating a role for someone to represent the interests of the River Wye, to act as an advocate and to vote on behalf of the River in Board decisions.

Dr Louise Bodnar has been assigned to the role and said: “I’ll do my utmost to advocate for the needs of the River and all the many species and habitats dependent upon the River.

“Putting the River on the board begins to move us away from an anthropocentric view of the world, where nature is a resource for us to use, towards a view in which we understand ourselves to be interdependent parts of the natural world, reminding us that we belong to the earth, the earth does not belong to us."

Herefordshire Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, cabinet member for environment and chairman of the Wye Catchment Nutrient Management Board said: “Dr Bodnar is an experienced scientist and qualified ecologist who has previously worked on river restoration projects.

“She is already working with landowners and farmers locally, providing advice and developing projects which restore ecological processes.”

Meanwhile more than 3,000 individuals and businesses who report being affected by the pollution in the Wye and other rivers catchments have now signed up to join a group claim against the Cargill UK poultry group and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water.

The landmark figure of claimants has been reached just over a year after the claim was launched by a team of environmental lawyers at law firm Leigh Day.

The Cargill UK poultry group (which includes Avara Foods, Cargill Plc and Freemans of Newent) and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water are alleged to be the largest individual contributors to pollution of the River Wye.

The claim alleges that industrial-scale chicken production managed by Avara is the single largest contributor of river water pollution which creates phosphorus and nitrate pollution that result in algal blooms, block sunlight, and deprive the water of oxygen.

Cargill, Avara and Freemans of Newent deny the allegations.

The claim was expanded in February this year to include Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water as a defendant, alleging that it is the second largest contributor of pollution.

Lawyers Leigh Day highlighted how phosphorus and nitrates present in sewage discharges also contribute to the pollution of the rivers. The expansion of the claim was made possible by a June 2024 Supreme Court ruling which opened the way to private nuisance claims for sewage pollution against sewage companies.

It is alleged that the pollution allegedly caused by the Cargill UK poultry group and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has affected residents’ enjoyment of the river, including when wild swimming and fishing and has negatively impacted businesses which rely on the condition of the river.