NRW celebrates Pembrokeshire river restoration, but what about the Cwmbach Community Wetlands?

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has announced a major restoration of the Afon Wern, a key tributary of the Cleddau River Special Area of Conservation. Through its Four Rivers for LIFE project, 500 tonnes of boulders were reintroduced along 650 metres of river to restore habitat, support wildlife and bring back more natural river processes.

Contractors also dug a new overflow channel, blocked three drainage ditches, created shallow wetland ponds and notched an obsolete concrete weir to restore free passage for fish. Peter Jones of the project said that working with natural processes was restoring ecosystem resilience, to the benefit of salmon, trout, bullhead, eel, lamprey and otter.

It is welcome news, but it is hard to ignore the contrast with what is happening in the Cynon Valley.

At the Cwmbach Community Wetlands, tarmac waste from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council works has been washing into the watercourse. Photos from the site show broken asphalt and rubble choking the stream bed, with fencing and debris scattered through the channel. Complaints have been made to NRW, yet the regulator has so far failed to act, and the council has not cleaned up its waste.

RCT Council says it is “transforming RCT.” In Cwmbach, residents see a community wetland turned into a waste dump.

If NRW can publicise the restoration of a protected river in Pembrokeshire, it should be just as willing to use its powers to protect a wetland in the Cynon Valley. We are calling on NRW to investigate the pollution and on RCT Council to clear its tarmac waste from the site.

https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/news-and-blogs/news/4r4l-afon-wern-restoration/?lang=en