Natural Resources Wales: River Usk sewage stench a mystery

The 'mysterious white sludge' can be seen by customers at both the Hanbury and the St Julians Inn pubs, in Caerleon.

Although it is not only pub goers in this village who have noticed the ‘disgusting sewage', but also those who live there.

Caerleon residents have expressed concern over smells coming from the river.

One woman who has just moved into a house next to the Hanbury said she was woken up during the night because of 'a stench coming from the water'.

She said: "I was woken up at 3am one morning due to the horrendous smell of sewage that must have been dumped in the river."

The source of this sewage and what the white sludge actually is, remains unknown to Natural Resources Wales.

“We are investigating a possible incident impacting the River Usk, near Hanbury Arms in Caerleon,” said John Rock SE Operations Manager for Natural Resources Wales.

“The cause of the incident is currently unknown, and our officers will continue to make enquiries into this report of potential pollution.

“To help us respond to incidents as swiftly as possible, we rely on people to report them to us as soon as they are able to, so our officers can investigate at the earliest opportunity.

“If you have any environmental concerns or see any signs of pollution, please report it directly to us by calling our 24/7 incident communication line on 0300 065 3000 or using our online ‘report it’ form.”

Residents have speculated that the sewage could be coming from different nearby areas, including private sewers and storm overflow outlets ‘that are constantly pumping into the river.’

Other things that could cause sewage spills include illegal connections from households and businesses, or poorly maintained underground wastewater tanks.

A charity called the Rivers Trust, have a map on their website showing all sewage stations across the UK.

According to this map, there are 17 different locations that have spilled treated and untreated waste water into the River Usk in Caerleon and Ponthir alone.

The orange squares represent places where untreated sewage has been spilled, and brown circles represent sewage released from storm overflows. (Image: Rivers Trust)

The map also shows how at least half of the sewage being dumped in the Usk Estuary is wastewater that has not been disinfected, otherwise known as ‘untreated’ sewage.

Waste water was spilled into the River Usk over 360 times last year, according to the Rivers Trust.

Welsh Water can confirm after their own investigation that the sewage pictured above did not spill from any assets belonging to them.

A spokesperson for Welsh Water said: "We are aware of a video posted on social media on 12 August, referring to a potential pollution incident in the River Usk in Caerleon.

"All of our assets in the area are monitored and were not discharging.

"Our crews also attended the scene to inspect the assets and confirmed that nothing had spilled."

If you suspect any sewage being dumped illegally into the River Usk, you can report this to Natural Resources Wales via their website.