Rivers
Our rivers in South East Wales have their heads in the hills and their feet in the towns. All of the major rivers have their source in the mountainous land which runs in a line from Carmarthen to Monmouth containing the wonderful Brecon Beacons, Mynydd Llangynidr, Mynyydd Llangatwg, Mynydd Blaenrhondda, Mynydd Y Gelli and Mynydd Pwllyrhebog to name just a few. Rivers run through Bridgend, Barry, Cardiff, Methyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Pontypridd and Newport, all major towns and cities with large populations. Two minor river systems drain the lowlands of the Vale of Glamorgan, the River Thaw and the Cadoxton River.
Carboniferous limestone forms the predominant rock of the area and despite the considerable acidic rainfall over the mountains - around 850mm per year - the alkaline lime dissolved in the river leads to an abundance of aquatic invertebrate providing rich feeding for the wily brown trout and juvenile salmon which are indigenous to the fast flowing waters. A dearth of these invertebrates signifies the presence of pollutants, these boys are the aquatic equivalent of the canary in the coal mine.
Every river in the region eventually flows into the vast estuary of the River Severn, famous for its enormous tidal range - 14 metres in Cardiff Bay - and powerful currents. The estuaries of the Ebbw and Rhymney (as, prior to the barrage, the Taff and Ely did ) run through deep muddy channels at their confluence with the Severn estuary which creates important feeding grounds for wading birds.
The valleys the rivers run through are steeped in the history of Wales and have witnessed the massive changes brought about by the industrialisation of a largely agricultural community. The farming continues to this day but is nowhere near as important economically as it was in the past.
Rivers literally and infamously ran black with coal dust from the mines that supplied the power when the woods and water of the region were exhausted by the scale of the demands created by the railways, the factories and the people who flocked to South East Wales in their thousands.The two Rhondda Valleys, Fawr and Fach housed around 3,000 people in 1860. By 1910 the population had soared to 160,000.
The River Ebbw had a particularly intense industrial epoch with works such as Abertillery Colliery and manufacturers like Ebbw Vale Steelworks - once Europe's largest - lining the valley and contributing to the elimination of nearly all life in the river. The lives of the workers whose houses were crammed into the land alongside the production centres were similarly under threat from the atmospheric pollution which filled the valley.
Heavy industry in South East Wales has declined rapidly through the late 20th Century although the communities themselves have expanded. Major investments in water treatment coupled with legislation regulating standards for waste entering our rivers have generated a revival of their ecologies. Trout and kingfishers are back in these river systems today and the aquatic fly life can be surprisingly prolific.
Water quality is not the only factor affecting the return of migratory fish in the rivers of South East Wales . Some of major obstacles preventing the return of migratory fish - remnants of age when water powered the mills which lined the rivers - have now been removed or altered and it's remarkable to learn that salmon have finally been able to reach their old spawning grounds in Cwm Rhondda once more. Many weirs remain and their removal or alteration is a costly business.
Obstacles to spawning grounds also remain in the form of reservoirs built the headwaters of the south eastern rivers of Wales. In particular the Taff has three reservoirs on both the Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan - not to mention a 1.25km barrage across the estuary.
Having a heritage such as this has left its mark on the rivers which remain surrounded by housing, roads and industry. The geography of the region concentrates communities in the good building land beneath the hills and next to the river which in turn has made these structures vulnerable to the characteristic spates which regularly tear down the adjoining river courses.
The risk of flooding is a real and major threat to the lives and work of the valley communities, so drastic and uncompromising measures have been taken to prevent them occurring, often to the detriment of the aesthetic appeal, structure and habitat of the rivers.
Despite the drawbacks of an industrial past - and a host of other threats - the rivers of South East Wales are improving and the South East Wales Rivers Trust aims to add to the successes that have been achieved to date. The rivers precede us and will no doubt remain when humanity has long gone but in the meantime let's value them, appreciate their beauty and work together to restore their former glory.
