they re too high. and that s putting wildlife at risk. otters have thrived in parts of the wye, along with many other rare species. it s one of the most protected rivers in britain because of this rich wildlife. all of our rivers in wales are now at risk from extinction for salmon and sea trout. gail davies walsh has over 20 years experience in the water industry. she says that farming and sewage are having a combined affect. it s much more than the direct species and habitats within the river. so our river is the source of drinking water, it s used by farmers as crop irrigation, it s used to feed cattle. we ve just reached a point where rivers cannot cope any more
it s always been something that i knew that i would want to do, which is why i m still here now and i m wanting to carry on the farm. gemma works on herfamily farm next to one of the rivers that feeds into the wye. along with her dad, they raise cows, sheep and chickens. all right, chooks! feeding them keeps him busy, as does dealing with a mountain of manure. that muck is gathered underneath this barn. so what happens to it then? some of the manure is collected in there, but there s always a bit of run off. where does it go? see this trench here? yeah. down that trench there, down through the grid there. 0k. there is a manhole there. the storage tank holds about 3,000 gallons. can you see that chicken muck floating on the top of the water? in a month or six weeks, that ll want emptying again. this muck is full of phosphates,
scientists here are clear to start fixing the problem, muck spreading should be stopped completely in some parts of the wye. there s loads of algae. ew. you don t have to go in, it s all slimy. for those who get out on the river regularly, the current state of the wye is having a real impact. ew. we were swimming and jumping off a rock and stuff when everything looked 0k. i think about a year and a half, maybe two years ago, - the whole river went green in the water. then one of their friends became ill. we all got a bit scared, so we kind of stayed on paddle boards and things, rather than going in and