The health of a river is largely dependent on the health of the soils in its catchment.<\/p>\n
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Yet with so much focus on the water industry and sewer overflows this relationship is often overlooked.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHealthy\u201d soils are high in organic matter and, most importantly, stay on the land and do not wash off into rivers in excessive amounts. And the relative health of a catchment\u2019s soil will have a large say in both the quality and volume of the water in a river.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
The two videos below show one of the main reasons why soil ends up in Welsh rivers: inappropriate landuse.<\/p>\n
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The first video shows the effects of maize growing in West Wales, the second stubble turnip fields in the Wye and Usk catchments of Mid Wales.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>