Natural Resources Wales responds to River Severn concerns

Residents in Newtown raised concerns about the the River Severn at Newtown having turned a murky, greenish-brown shade on Saturday, August 9, leading Wales’ environment body to investigate the cause.

Reports described the water as an “opaque, murky brown colour”, raising fears of pollution or a potential sewage leak.

Now Natural Resources Wales has told the County Times about why it believes the issue has arisen.

A spokesman said: “Following a report of discolouration in the River Severn at Newtown, we visited the site to investigate.

READ MORE: Newtown residents concerned as River Severn takes on ‘murky brown’ colour

“During our enquiries, an area of recently completed flood defence works was identified and is being considered as a potential cause of the disturbance.

“No active pollution source was found during our visit, and further enquiries are ongoing.

“We will continue to monitor the situation.

“We encourage members of the public to report any further concerns to our 24/7 Incident Communications Centre via our online Report It form or by calling 0300 065 3000.”

The River Severn Custodians Blog reported the incident on its Facebook page, and described the water as taking on “opaque, murky brown colour” near Halfpenny Bridge in Newtown.

A long-term resident told the County Times that they had never seen the river look like this in three decades of living in the area.

They said: “I looked down on the river on Saturday while crossing the bridge and noticed the colour was off.

“A few passers also told me they thought something must have happened upstream, like a leak or sediment being disturbed.

“I’ve lived in Newtown for 30 years, and I’ve never seen it that colour before.”

One person on social media speculated that the discolouration could be related to a burst water main at Llandinam, while another said the water level had also risen.

The River Severn Custodians confirmed they had reported the incident to NRW.

The Environment Agency hotline for reporting similar incidents is 0800 80 70 60 (choose option 4 for Wales).