13 January 2024 , 22:00
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Residents of a Welsh town were left shocked when a large part of a river turned bright orange.
The Afon Lwyd at Charlesville near Pontypool changed from its usual grey to a vibrant orange on Friday - and was still the same colour on Saturday morning. Environment regulator Natural Resources Wales (NRW) confirmed they received reports of the colour change on Friday.
They said their officers went to the site to investigate and assess the impact on Friday evening. They are set to return on Saturday morning, NRW confirmed. On Facebook, one person said the river "doesn't look too healthy", while another described it looking "almost rusty in colour". A person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Is this the River Tango?"
The Coal Authority in Wales said today that it is "aware of a possible mine water discharge" in the area with a spokesman saying: "We're currently working with Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / Natural Resources Wales and our partners to investigate the incident."
Jon Goldsworthy, the NRW Duty Tactical Manager for South East Wales, said: "On Friday 12 January we received reports of the Afon Lwyd at Charlesville, near Pontypool, turning a bright orange colour. NRW officers attended the site yesterday evening to investigate and assess any impact and will be returning this morning during daylight hours. Suspected pollution incidents can be reported to NRW via our 24/7 incident line 0300 065 3000 or online: Natural Resources Wales / Report an incident."
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The river was still orange this morning (Tom Davies Photography)
The water of Afon Lwyd at Charlesville near Pontypool has changed to a bright orange colour (Alida Smith)In May 2023, the River Dee in North Wales also turned a bright orange colour overnight, leaving locals gobsmacked. "The whole (Dee) estuary was orange," said one woman on social media.
Removal man Andy Gray was astonished to see the state of the water. He said: "I've been walking my dogs along the river most days for 15 years. I've never seen it looking remotely like that before. The river is never this colour, not even slightly. People were literally stopping to take photos and to look at it!"
David Powell, duty manager for North Wales, said a red-orange "plume" was seen in the river two days after North Wales was hit by heavy rain, leaving parts of Wrexham swamped. He said: "Following reports of red, cloudy water in the River Dee in the Chester area on Saturday, we can confirm the discolouration was caused by heavy localised rainfall in various parts of the River Dee catchment on May 11. NRW officers have been monitoring the plume."
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