Natural Resources Wales (NRW) say the number of pollution incidents reported to them over the last five years has increased, partially due to heightened public awareness and concern about the impact of pollution on the environment.
NRW say they rely on people to report sightings of pollution quickly and accurately to be able to take action to minimise the harm to communities and nature. But this can be difficult when reporting pollution on smaller or remote rivers if people are unsure who to report it to and how.
This is why NRW has placed signs near five rivers in the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend with the phone number to call and grid reference as part of a trial to encourage people to report anything they see, and to make the process easier.
The signs have been placed on bridges next to rivers at The Coldbrook in Barry, River Cadoxton on Cardiff Road in Dinas Powys, River Thaw on St Athan Road near The Herberts, south of Cowbridge, River Ewenny on Ogmore Road to the west of Ewenny village and Nant Ganna on Horsefair Road in Treoes, Bridgend.
Alex Grainger, Environment Officer for NRW, said: “Incident response is a crucial part of our work. We cannot be at every river across Wales 24 hours a day.
“We rely on people to report sightings of pollution to us swiftly to be able to minimise harm from these incidents.
“We hope these signs will make it easier for people to get the right information to us quickly. This will give us the best chance of finding the pollution, track the source, minimise the impact and collect evidence for any enforcement action we may take.”
Pollution incidents should be reported to NRW by calling its 24-hour incident hotline on 03000 65 3000 or report it online at www.naturalresources.wales/reportit.
