Ceredigion County Council has been criticised for not committing to pollution reduction targets as part of a delayed River Teifi conservation project. 

The authority launched the Afon Teifi Phosphate Reduction and Mitigation Project (PRAM) in October 2021.  

The Teifi’s health has been on the radar of authorities for several years, with pollution from harmful substances nitrates and phosphates a particular concern.    

The county council was compelled into acting after dangerous phosphate levels prompted a total pause of nearly 100 planning applications along the length of the river – the longest in Wales.  

The authority says the project aims to ‘contribute’ to a reduction in phosphate levels but does not commit to any explicit targets to bring levels down by a set amount.  

Delivery of the project has also been delayed by at least three months due to issues appointing a project officer and other complications. 

Robert Winter, a leading member of conservation group Llandysul Biodiversity, said: “I think as Greta once said... blah, blah, blah! 

“They have delayed till August, and I can see no positive dates for the implementation of any assets or work that will address the high phosphate levels and actively reduce them. 

“Surely the whole reason for this is to reduce levels, otherwise I struggle to see the value of this.  

“Being unkind perhaps it looks a little like a tick box exercise.” 

A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “PRAM is funded by the Nature Networks Fund – this is being distributed by the Heritage Lottery Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government.  

“The aim of the Nature Networks Fund is to improve the condition and resilience of Wales’ marine and terrestrial protected sites network, of which the Afon Teifi is a component. 

“Notification that Ceredigion County Council had been awarded the grant was given in October 2021 with an end date for delivery of the grant of March 2023. 

“The grant award predominately consists of capital funding (to implement measures on the ground) with 10 per cent of the total grant award being allocated to revenue funding – this funding was identified to employ a project officer to oversee the delivery of the capital element of the grant. 

“The appointment of the project officer was unfortunately delayed until June 2022 and as a result of this an extension for grant delivery was requested and accepted, with a revised project end date 31 August 2023. 

“The overarching aim of the project is to contribute to an overall reduction in phosphate levels in the Afon Teifi SAC by reducing inputs of phosphate as well as instigating engagement with the local community around the subject of phosphate pollution.  

“The project’s aims are implementing 9km of riparian buffer strips, conducting a feasibility study for two integrated wetlands, implementing farm management plans and the resulting capital measures, implementing a number of SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) in towns along the Teifi and the creation and installation of public information boards.  

“It is important to highlight that the project was designed to kick start work around the reduction of phosphates to the Afon Teifi, and was at no point committed to reducing phosphate levels by any set amount. 

“At present, feasibility work is well underway to carry out the measures outlined above with progress being made in a number of areas. Whilst no works on the ground have been carried out to date, we are hoping to see some progress in this area in the coming weeks.” 

World-leading hydrologist and ex-Aberystwyth University lecturer, Professor Tony Jones, said: “Water pollution, especially from agriculture is clearly a problem that has been increasing - and notably has been delaying planning permission for housing along the Teifi. 

“Something has been due to occasional overflows from manure storages and fines have been issued, though finding the culprits can be time-consuming and costly. Better funding for the NRW is an obvious answer. 

“There is a wider issue, illustrated by warnings that beaches can be dangerous after heavy rain.  

“This can be due to overload in sewage treatment plants. But more widely, it is due to runoff from farmland following heavy rainfall washing animal faeces into rivers.  

“This is more difficult to deal with. The only measure currently operating is to restrict muck-spreading during the winter rainfall season, but natural defecation occurs all the time.  

“Reducing the number of animals is obviously not a solution favoured by farmers.  

“So where to go from here apart from warning human beings is a big conundrum - and who’s going to warn the fishes? Climate change is going to exacerbate this as well.” 

West Wales Rivers Trust project officer Nathaniel James spelled out to the Cambrian News what was needed to reduce pollution in the Teifi – and he agreed with some of the council’s planned measures but wanted it to go further. 

He said: “To tackle phosphate pollution in the Teifi more investment and support is needed in the infrastructure of wastewater treatment works, sustainable drainage, and nature-based solutions such as integrated constructed wetlands, which naturally treat wastewater before entering rivers, and act as carbon sinks.  

“Similar can be incorporated into farmland, where field drainage ditches can terminate in wetlands or sediment traps, while stock can be fenced out from tributaries. These actions can work alongside usual operations with minimal impact on food production. 

“There is potential for farmers to capture and slow the flow of floodwater providing great benefit to downstream communities, while also reducing diffuse pollution by adopting natural flood management techniques and incorporating silvopasture as a mutually beneficial grazing option.” 

Silvopasture is the practice of integrating trees, forage, and the grazing of domesticated animals in a beneficial way for the entire ecosystem.