Monmouthshire Olway and Trothy Project
The Olway and Trothy rivers suffer heavily from the effects of agricultural diffuse pollution, with not infrequent episodes of point source pollution causing the waterbodies to fail the WFD ‘good’ status.
Dŵr Cymru awarded the Monmouthshire Olway and Trothy (MOAT) project funding to reduce the adverse impact of agriculture on the catchment. “The project will reduce loadings of phosphate and fine sediment and the risk of diffuse pollution occurring from each farm, improving fisheries and water bodies downstream”.
MOAT offers farmers in the catchment free and confidential assessments in order to recommend advice on how to improve their farming practices and prevent agricultural pollution. The project is being delivered in a sequential way working downstream through the catchment, and the response from farmers has largely been positive. “Success in mitigating diffuse pollution is derived from engagement with the entire farming community.”