Sites of Special Scientific “NO” Interest!!

As a Chartered Environmentalist I made a commitment to amongst others maintain obligations to professional standards and to recognise obligations to society, the profession, and the environment.

It was a proud moment when I received two letters in the post dedicating the area that I live in, the Afon Teifi/River Teifi, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) July 2005 and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) August 2006. Furthermore, all SSSI’s are of national importance. Below are a couple of reasons why it was granted this “special” status and some highlights where society has spectacularly failed.

The Afon Teifi has a variety of special wildlife features, amongst others three species of lamprey, otters, breeding and wintering river and wetland birds, fish including the Atlantic salmon and bottle nose dolphins that sometimes come into the lower estuary.

Angry with what I saw around me I decided to go out and collect rubbish over the weekend left behind by “polluters”. I am not the only one that does this. There are several voluntary organisations like Teifi River Clean, a riverside community that cares, highlights pollution, and actively does something about it! I will define the polluters as the Welsh Government (and its sponsored bodies), public, water companies, farmers, regulators, ombudsman, and local authorities, that combined represent our collective decline in national pride and values. Pollution and the environmental catastrophe more broadly are the result of insatiable consumerism, selfishness, and individual and collective irresponsibility. And it does not take long for any complaint about the quality of service to be rebutted with a Covid or money excuse. My big worry is that we may end up accepting laxity, complacency, irresponsible and low-quality results as the norm. Until one day it will be too late and our precious wildlife will be gone forever. 

The rubbish I collected comprised of vape refills (I think), blankets, wet wipes, plastic containers, polystyrene food packaging, a tractor floor mat, and plastic bags, but by far the greatest quantity was the plastic used in agriculture to wrap silage and cover crops made from polyethylene (PE). It is the PE’s non-biodegradable nature, that it is now becoming a major environmental concern. Over time this will end up moving through the food chain. Oh, and a football! The conservation of the Teifi is not only important for wildlife - its important for people to live, work and play.

There was also a combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharging into the Afon Teifi. A recent report has been published by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) outlining phosphate levels for all river SAC’s across Wales. It has taken a looming catastrophe to reach this point. Evidence shows that overall, phosphorus breaches are widespread within Welsh SAC rivers with over 60 per cent of river sections failing. Lower parts of the Teifi failed 50 per cent of its targets. The Cleddau is in a similar state. But there is no responsibility and joined up thinking. Welsh Water is way behind the curve and needs to upgrade its sewage collection system and treatment plants to remove CSO’s and add phosphorus stripping. Rather it majorly relies on granted consents to pollute.

As a civil engineer, I understand why CSOs are needed as overflow valves, but my main point here is it should not be flowing when it has not rained for weeks and it is located within a SSSI. The public can also help by keeping our sewers free of wet wipes and other sanitary products as well as ensuring fats, oils and grease are not poured down the sink. These are the systems that need fixing first, as the eutrophication a process where the water acquires high concentrations of nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates, deplete the water of oxygen causing the death of aquatic life and fish. 

How can Welsh Government (through its sponsored bodies) designate SSSI status and subsequently grant a consent to Welsh Water to pollute? It can only be because it has no interest! It granted a consent to pollute in April 2009 after it became a SAC and SSSI in 2005 and 2006, respectively. This is criminal. Add to this the slurry spreading by farmers, another major source of phosphates that continues unabated in Wales, tree felling, fallen trees caused by floods and bank erosion and gravel mounds blocking and altering flows impeding fish migration and altering aquatic habitat. There are plans for a national forest running the length and breadth of Wales. Right now, I suspect that the Government has no clue how many trees get felled without licence and without replanting. Its crisis upon crisis, persuasive rhetoric and all talk, and no action. 

It was in this same SSSI that I recently saw otters, a mum and two cubs and during my rubbish collection I came across lampreys swimming in shallow water. Despite our poor attitude towards these creatures, they are surviving amidst the pollution, but are they thriving? We should start thinking seriously about what we want our future to look like. All I know is the phrase “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”, is undoubtedly wise, and it seems to be common wisdom. Everyone in society can participate and contribute to this phrase.

There needs to be a call to action. Even climate change deniers cannot blame the natural environment for plastic and water pollution. It is up to us, each and every one of us to consciously live in an environmentally responsible manner.