A resident who lives close to the river Wye explained on Radio 4 last week why she’d joined the class action against Avara Foods Ltd, Freemans of Newent Ltd and Dŵr Cymru. She’s asking for compensation because her beloved river is dead.

The firm of solicitors, Leigh Day, has over 4000 claimants participating. Asking for compensation, as they cannot enjoy the activities they used to take for granted - fishing, rowing, swimming, wildlife watching - is one thing but their most important demand is that those responsible for killing the Wye, as well as the Usk and the Lugg, will be made to clean them up.

Avara Foods and Dŵr Cymru have stated publicly that they’ll fight in court as neither accepts responsibility. According to Avara Foods, it’s “individual farmers (who) are responsible for how nutrients are used in their arable operations.” Dŵr Cymru states that they’ve invested £70 million in improving the river Wye and are currently spending £33 million on the Usk. They argue that, “unfortunately, the water pollution caused by other sectors … has increased significantly, reducing the overall impact of the water quality improvements we have achieved.”

So who’s responsible for the dreadful state of these rivers? Farmers spreading the phosphates and nitrogen rich manure emanating from the nearly 24 million chickens in the rivers’ catchment area get blamed. And of course climate change. Who gets taken to court over that?

Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, at a meeting where he discussed how our rivers can be cleaned up, told farmers, “It requires action from water companies, regulators, government, developers, farmers, environmental organisations and more.”

Yes Minister! Included must be multinational companies that claim to be sustainable but are anything but. Oliver Holland, partner with Leigh Day, acting on behalf of the residents, reckons that, “90 percent of phosphorus (from the massive chicken farms) ends up in the river.”

Avara Foods is owned partly by the giant US based firm Cargill. Cargill’s purpose is, “To nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.” If the situation wasn’t so tragic, such a statement would be funny.

The Minister asks for environmental organisations to help clean up our rivers. There are many such organisations involved eg Surfers Against Sewage who warn swimmers of pollution incidences. Locally the amazing Teifi campaigners launched ‘The Peoples Plan for the Teifi’ in April this year. This plan “prioritises ecological health, sustainable management, and community involvement.”

Mathew Middleton who calls himself a lone campaigner has written a detailed account of 34 years of work on river pollution. I agree with his sentiment when he says, “Water conservation is always someone else’s problem to fix.”

Walking at the Hafod Estate the other day, I marvelled at the crystal clear waters there, water that springs from the Ceredigion uplands. It lifts your spirits. At the end of one of our gorgeous rivers, the Aeron, we can now stand in the sea at the tip of the new breakwater in Aberaeron and watch the river enter Cardigan Bay. It’s another uplifting experience.

In between the uplands and the seas, farmers’ fields leach excess nutrients, water companies allow sewage spillages, road run-off contributes too to the pollution as does litter carelessly discarded by individuals. The only way to fix the problem is to stop the pollution going into our rivers in the first place. It’ll probably mean more expensive chicken. Paying up for the clean up afterwards is bound to cost more; higher water bills are already hitting households.

Our rivers once teemed with fish and other wildlife. They should do so again. I hope that the courts will side with the claimants.