Life of a Chalkstream: Something is rotten in the state of water companies

Greetings,

I was pleased to see, if that is the correct emotion in these circumstances, that Wessex Water were fined half a million pounds last week, plus nearly another £100,000 in costs, having pleaded guilty to three charges relating to pollution and fish kill incidents that took place in the spring and summer of 2018 in Somerset and Wiltshire. It is a pretty stonking fine and I can say with absolute certainty you would never have seen such a penalty a decade ago.

Two things have changed: firstly, Magistrates Courts are fully aware of the shenanigans of water companies; even Rumpole of the Bailey could not finesse their wrongdoings. Secondly the last government, despite their many failings, did at least allow for fines of this scale to be levied. However, having the power and choosing whether to use it are two very different things so it is worth asking why District Judge Joanna Dickens clobbered Wessex so hard.

The clue is in her words when she said the discharges by Wessex Water “undermine(s) the regulatory regime” with Wessex’s ability to anticipate discharges, but apparent unwillingness to prevent the discharges whilst ultimately choosing not to report the discharges either in a timely fashion or not at all. Let me take you through one of the charges that relates to Clackers Brook, a tributary of the Somerset Avon where 2,100 fish were killed over a stretch of 2/3rds of a mile, to explain this further.

Now, even in the case of water companies, we have to accept that to err is human. Accidents happen, but it is how you deal with those accidents that marks you out as a decent organisation. This is why Judge Dickens was so incensed. Strike one: the pollution was caused by a failure of the sewage pumping station’s alarm and telemetry system, a failure that had resulted in discharges earlier in the year that Wessex Water had not reported to the Environment Agency. Strike two: Wessex did not adequately repair the alarm and telemetry system. Strike three: when the failure occurred again on 28 July 2018 the discharge was allowed to continue for 58.5 hours; yes, really two and half days. Strike four: once again, Wessex did not immediately report the illegal discharge to the Environment Agency.

Bowerhill Lodge Sewage Pumping Station

I find myself scratching my head about the Clackers Brook incident which is so typical of the thousands and thousands of similar discharges that pollute our rivers. Buy why? Are the people that work at Wessex Water intrinsically evil? Do they wake up each morning determined to wreak destruction on the countryside? Imagine the people that work at the Bowerhill Lodge Sewage Pumping Station where it all went so wrong. Over the years I have met their like. They are not the fat cat executives. They are not work-at-home middle management. They are the guys that drive the trucks, scrape s**t off blocked filter screens and the horny handed types you ask to loosen nuts stuck fast by years of corrosion. They are the biblical salt of the earth, kind, honest, hardworking and reliable. But then again, these are the same people who have slammed security gates in the face of Environment Agency inspectors to bar entry.

There is clearly something deeply wrong in the culture of our water companies that pervades every level of the workforce. Until that is addressed, all the legislation, regulators and fines will only take us so far.

News, views & reviews

I am struggling to decide, as I look at this season in the rearview mirror, if it has been the most difficult of all my 35 professional years on the chalkstreams. As I have much opined it has been wet, new records set then engulfed by newer, wetter records.

But, on reflection for all the difficulties both you and I encountered, I think 2022 was worse: the drought. The heat. The lack of water. How quickly we forget how awful it was; by the time the season ended I had closed a third of the beats due to low water levels. We successfully fought off Southern Water who wanted emergency abstraction permits to get themselves out of the hole they have dug, mostly at our cost, due to 30 years of inadequate infrastructure spending. After that it started to rain – Mother Nature has a way of evening out her aberrations.

In terms of hatches and catches this season was, if turned into a graph, one of jagged highs and lows. The good weeks were very good. The bad weeks very bad. The Mayfly was indifferent; probably in the bottom quartile with ‘bumper’ days less evident. Overall, I would say the number of fish caught was low compared to an average year though, in past weeks, the grayling having been hard to catch in October have been up ‘n at ‘em in good numbers this month.

Looking ahead to next year, I am going to translate the Customer Star Ratings you give on the Feedback Forms into an Amazon/Trip Advisor style summary which will be published on the web site alongside each fishery. It is going to look something like this:

To begin with I suspect it will be the summation of reports from 2024 as ours is not currently an automated system and sometimes there is limited data from the less frequently fished beats. However, I think it will be a worthwhile experiment and a visible acknowledgement of your feedback, both good and bad.

In other plans for next year, we are working on a better Advice Ahead of Your Fishing Trip. I know in the past some have complained that it is too much of a broad month-by-month overview and I think that is a fair criticism. So, Jamie in the office has been set the less than easy task of creating a weekly format that will be published each Friday on the web site looking ahead to the next 7 days. The Weekly River & Hatches Update section will bring you reports on fishing conditions, river flows, hatches and insights gleaned from our guides, river keepers and, of course, intel from your feedback.

In truth, we have done a little bit of a soft launch on the Weekly Update, emailing the link direct to grayling fishers as it is not on the website yet. For those of you receiving it, your thoughts and feedback would be much appreciated. As soon as it is generally available, I will let everyone know.

Finally, to wrap up all this talk of feedback I have two prizes to give away. Firstly, Mark Stokes who fished at Kimbridge picks up the October fly pack with the annual prize of Nigel Nunn’s fully loaded Wheatley fly box going to Jamie Riddell who visited West Wycombe Park way back in the first week of April. Well done to both and thank you to everyone who contributed this season.

John Bailey reports from the River Wye

I have always loathed the divides between the disciplines that exist throughout the UK fishing scene. Carp anglers. Predator anglers. Match anglers. Sea anglers. Trout anglers. Salmon anglers. Throughout my own career I’ve relished coarse and game equally and to me a tench is every bit as desirable as a trout for example. This is surely how it should be and this is what we find throughout most European countries. It is for this hugely important reason to me that I relish my contact with Fishing Breaks.

Of course, initially, I was anxious. Would salmon anglers relate to barbel and to the approaches I use to catch them? Thankfully, by and large, the answer has been a resounding “yes.” We wade - when the river allows of course. We hold the rod. We sight fish when the clarity and light are good. We feel for the bite. We strike on the electric tug of a taking fish. We admire the power, tenacity and beauty of a species often new to us. We remain mobile, not rooted to a chair. We wander a glorious river, rod in hand. We enjoy companionship and the views of the Black Mountains beyond. In these dark days when salmon stocks are wavering and top class wild trout fishing can be hard to find, it seems a great idea to fish for a non-salmonid that is big, beautiful and battles with a bold heart. That’s the barbel and you don’t have to fly to Iceland to find them.

John Bailey on the left with a happy client this summer

I cannot thank those of you enough who have delivered such positive reviews on my work. I can promise you that I have enjoyed our days together equally. Watching your excitement and enjoyment has validated what I do in some deeply resonating way. I adore my river. I am proud of her. It makes my soul sing when you see and appreciate her beauty.

We cannot ignore the fact that these are difficult days for the Wye, for all rivers in truth. This is why angling is so vital. Only anglers understand rivers beneath their surface. Boaters, birders, walkers and the rest see only the veneer of rivers. It’s down to us to understand the problems and work to solve them. Outrageously, we cannot rely on the statutory authorities to do anything positive, even remotely useful. Here on the Wye, Natural Resources Wales have ignored every threat to this wonderful river. It is up to us to fish the Wye, fight for her and give her and her great golden barbel the love they so richly deserve.

John has now closed up for the season on the Wye but will be back from 16/June next year for his chub and barbel adventures. The 2025 calendar will be published shortly but if you would like to check out the details click here or email me to put your marker down.

Cartoon of the Week

Quiz

The normal random collection of questions inspired by the date, events or topics in the Newsletter. It is just for fun with answers at the bottom of the page.

1) What is a rhyne?

2) Who was assassinated on this day in 1963?

3) In what year was the company Amazon founded?