Water watchdogs say cause of Dee pollution was found and repaired

* One of a series pictures taken by llanblogger’s source showing the dirty foam collecting on rocks in the river.

The source of pollution of the River Dee in Llangollen has been identified and repaired, according to Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

Earlier this month llanblogger published a special report featuring claims that some form of pollutant was coming from upstream of the Horseshoe Falls, dirty foam was collecting in eddies of water and on rocks and a number of kayakers had become sick with serious gastro-intestinal problems. 

llanblogger's trustworthy source on the river said they personally knew of over 20 cases but that there had been an increase noted following the Dee Fest kayak festival over the weekend of April 25-26.

Natural Resources Wales and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, which are jointly responsible for the Dee, both said their expert teams would be working to find out what was causing the problem.

Now, both organisations report that an answer has been found.

Philip Barrett, Senior Officer, Denbighshire Environment Team at NRW, said: “The source of the pollution on the River Dee, first reported to us on 27 April, has been identified. 

"The misconnection issue has been raised with Denbighshire County Council, and a separate operator has carried out repair works to a damaged section of a wastewater inspection chamber.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation and our investigation remains ongoing. We will take any appropriate enforcement action. 

"Thank you to everyone who reported this to our incident line – your reports help us respond quickly. If you spot any further issues, please report them to us 24/7 using our online form, or call our incident line on 0300 065 3000.”

And a spokesperson for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said: "We are continuing to work with NRW and the local council to investigate misconnections into a culvert in Llangollen.

"Misconnections are when a private wastewater pipe is connected to the incorrect surface water drainage network, usually unknowingly.

"This can result in wastewater going directly into streams and rivers. You can learn more on how to spot misconnections on our website.  

"During our investigations we identified a damaged manhole that could have leaked into the culvert.

"This has now been repaired and we have carried out a clean-up on the area where the culvert enters the Dee."