Dwr Cymru News

(Diagrams of flows, temps and pH have been requested for Ystrad Ffin and Dolau Hirion).

Brianne's outfall is fixed with no short term night/day changes, yet claims of downstream fluctuations persist. The water at Llandovery is at present described as 'cold, peat stained and appearing sterile'. Flow records have been requested. When flows at Nantgaredig are low enough, the fixed outfall will be stepped up to match abstraction rates .

As for fishery releases per se - there would have to be a good reason for one.

Brianne has an annual 'water bank' of some 2000 million gallons dedicated for 'river fisheries management'. Fisheries releases (freshets) were originally intended to attract salmon and sea trout into the fish traps below the dam, subsequently were used to attract fish into the river from the estuary. The whole process has a chequered history. The water was too cold, big releases were limited by release-valve size and not big enough, etc, suffice to say that by 1990, water in Brianne was too acidic to release anyway.

In 1991, when liming had commenced and the pH was back up to 6.6 - 7.0, our hopes of releases were frustrated by the newly noted Little Ringed Plovers nesting on the Towy gravels. Following an RSPB survey report, we had to agree that no release between May and July should raise the river more than 0.3m - 0.5m. A 0.5m rise at Llandovery means a 0.0 rise at Carmarthen.

They even wanted all the gravels fenced off as well until August. This theme continues of course to the present day with all the nonsense about electric fences.

Later when we asked to see the original survey data, in connection with a gravel extraction study, none was available. No formal notes were taken.

Recent shad studies apparently indicate that the species performance is enhanced in a season when Brianne is overtopping and is 'subdued' by cold water - hence concerns about fishery releases - but prompting calls for a multilevel takeoff from Brianne. Only 38 years late then.....