ENVIRONMENTALISTS waded into a stretch of the River Severn in a search for waterweed which has largely “gone”. Wyre Forest Study Group members went to where Dowles Brook joins the river close to the disused and derelict branch line railway bridge. They were following up an analysis of on-line Environment Agency data that records the plants found in the stretch between 2004 and 2022.
Nine surveys were done by the EA between 2013 and 2022 which just overlaps with the time when people began to notice the waterweed had gone. Roger Meade, a long-time wetland ecologist, co-ordinator of Wyre Forest Friends of the Earth Group and contributor to CARP (Community Action against River Pollution), said: “It’s an indicator of the health of the river. We can measure pollutants but the ability of these plants to survive is the ultimate test.
“They provide hiding places for smaller creatures, such as young fish like barbel, and it is where they can spawn. The waterweed is essential to the food-webs but now they are gone. “They are also very beautiful, waving in the current and brightening the summer.
“We are all the poorer for their loss. “Groups such as Friends of the Earth and CARP will continue to probe into the state of the river and what is causing it to decline. We hope to see you all on September 22 for the celebration of World Rivers Day to be held at Bewdley Rowing Club.
Join us and let us know you care too.” Eight people from the group walked the shallows in a 100-.