From the Western Mail



The future’s not orange for this river if a dramatic clean-up comes off



DEEP in the countryside of rural Mid Wales, the waters run bright orange.

The garish hue of the streams running down towards the river Rheidol are the result of decades of metal mining in these green hills.

But an innovative scheme using cockle shells and compost to clean the streams could clear these waters for good – and provide a lifeline for polluted waterways across the world.

The trial will focus on a remote area deep in the Rheidol Valley, near Aberystwyth, that has been left scarred by silver and lead mining dating back to the 19th century.


While the sides of the valley are populated by lush forests and meadows, several parts of the hillsides have been left as barren scree slopes, exuding bright orange liquid.

Similar sights are evident in locations across Mid and West Wales.

The new European-funded trial will use a mixture of waste products, including organic compost and fragments of cockle shells to encourage natural biological and chemical processes that will clean the mine water.

The water running out of the mine has historically polluted the Rheidol with large quantities of zinc, and other metals, meaning the river, which flows from Pumlumon to Aberystwyth, has consistently failed to meet water quality standards under European directives.

The new scheme, being launched today by the Environment Agency Wales, aims to strip these metals out of the water using a process that requires no electric filtration.

If successful, it is hoped the techniques, could be adopted across the world to treat water from abandoned metal mines.

Similar methods have already been successfully used to remove iron from coal mine waters, but this is the first time the method, developed in conjunction with the Coal Authority and scientists from Newcastle University, has been used to remove zinc and other metals.

Under UK law, no company or individual can be held responsible for pollution from mines abandoned before 1999.

Government funding has been made available to deal with the environmental impact of South Wales’ coal mining industry, but there has been less public money available to deal with the repercussions of mining for other substances.

The Cwm Rheidol scheme, which will be based at a hydro electric power station in the valley, has received cash from the European Union, under the Objective One scheme, as well as from the Assembly Government.

Paul Edwards, a senior environment officer with Environment Agency Wales, said the project could have a substantial benefit for other areas of the country affected in a similar way, and could be extended internationally.

“The work being done at Cwm Rheidol could also mean good news for other parts of Wales that suffer similar mine- water pollution problems,” he said.

“Innovative projects like this one at Cwm Rheidol will help us achieve the challenging targets set by the Water Framework Directive.”

Under the EU’s Water Framework Directive, the UK, along with all other European countries, have been instructed to make sure all waterways – including seas within a kilometre of the shore – reach a certain standard by 2015.

It is hoped the scheme in this tiny corner of Mid Wales will help one Welsh river meet the required standards.

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Musha rig um du rum da

Wish you luck m8.
My favourite salmon river, the Nith suffered same problems through open cast mining for years. River always turned black on a spate as effluent was washed down.
Last 10 years, through various measures, water quality has improved tremendously, and river no longer runs dark black on spates.
Hope your water can recover.
regards
bert