FARMERS have vowed to take action to reduce phosphate levels in the River Wye, following anti-pollution campaigns sparked by the water turning murky with algal blooms.

A month-long Walking With The Wye pilgrimage from source to sea ended in Chepstow last week highlighting the problem of pollution in the river, which campaigners claim is caused by the likes of animal manure run-off and huge poultry farms in Powys and Herefordshire.

A meeting co-organised by the Wye and Usk Foundation and local farmers on Tuesday, August 3, agreed that livestock manure, sewage cake and digestate were sources of high phosphate, which causes algal blooms that block out light to water crow-foot and other beneficial river plants.

Farmers Weekly reported that Kate Speke Adams, Wye and Usk Foundation head of land use, told the meeting that farming in Herefordshire was responsible for up to two-thirds of phosphate currently found in the Wye.

She also pinpointed “leaky” soils and land management practices as issues leading to pollution.

“We’re all trying to figure out how to reduce it, so it’s encouraging to see farmers and other stakeholders working together to tackle this issue,” she said.

Measures will also need to be taken by other sectors, including water treatment and poultry production, she added.

Farmers Weekly reported that Shane Rothwell of the University of Lancaster, who has been studying the Wye catchment as part of the RePhOKUS (Resilience Phosphorous UK) project, blamed livestock manure for most of the problem.

“At the moment, soil P input exceeds crop demand by 30 per cent, so phosphate is accumulating every year,” he told the meeting.

“The main movement of phosphate is in manures, so changing how they are used will help.”

He said there was a “huge reserve” of phosphate in the county’s soils - ‘legacy P’ – which was also damaging water quality.

“This surplus is mobile and can end up in the river,” he said, and will take from five to 15 years to remove through cropping.

He added that the two main options for dealing with the manure issue were processing and exporting it and reducing livestock numbers.

Phosphate stripping technology, manure application and treatment, and supply chain intervention are options, so that workable guidance can be put in place for continued and appropriate manure use.

Farmers Weekly said farmers are already taking action, with Martin Williams of Fownhope near Ross-on-Wye stopping the use of sewage cake and reducing the use of chicken litter.

Other measures he has taken include buffer strips and 6m margins, putting in permanent grass by the river to protect water courses.

Meanwhile, Farmers Weekly says the Environment Agency are identifying high-risk farms in order to develop action plans.

Nearly 300 farm inspections have taken place in the last 10 months, with 80 per cent compliant.

The EA’s Andrew Osbaldiston said that despite 12 serious incidents and 57 breaches there had been considerable improvements and a willingness to engage from local farmers.