This story map shows the River Corran with water collection results (Red marker), any blockages spotted (Blue marker).

The third location for our invertebrate sampling is Mackerel Lake stream, a section upstream from the culvert on The Lacques. At first sight this did not look a promising location to find invertebrates, the flow was slow, the water level low and there were long sections choked with water weeds such as dropwort, figwort and watercress, amongst others, as well as being overgrown with brambles. Our little band of volunteers braved the thorns and risk of entanglement to enter any

Monitoring during September 2026 revealed an event across the Laugharne Estuary, reversing August’s clean baseline. Initial testing on 18 September recorded a Phosphate surge (1.34 mg/L) and an acidic drop in marine pH (6.9). Targeted re-testing on 21September at 15:30 recorded an Ammonia spike of 1.64 mg/L at Frog Rock (SN 30516 10348,~40m from the STW outfall). We have asked NRW and Dwr Cymru to investigate. Key Findings from 21 September 2026 Follow-Up Acute Ammonia Spike

Spring and summer bring a lively chorus of bird songs and the flutter of wings along the River Corran. This season, I have been using the Merlin app to track and identify birds during daily walks on Horsepool Road, a path that follows the upper reaches of the river. These walks, whether short with our older dog or longer with my daughter’s energetic hound, have opened a window into the rich variety of birdlife in this area. The experience has been rewarding, revealing both th

Found this on the NRW dataset site. I have added their widget to the site here . The 2026 report/figures should be out mid November. From this dataset, ranking the 78 EXCELLENT-rated beaches by their combined bacterial levels (95th-percentile E. coli + intestinal enterococci — lower is cleaner), the five cleanest in Wales for the 2025 season are: Freshwater West (Pembrokeshire) — E. coli 11.8, IE 11.8 Marloes Sands (Pembrokeshire) — E. coli 11.8, IE 12.8 Lydstep (Pembrokeshir

This report provides an analysis of the water quality data collected across the River Taf in September 2026 at Llandowror, the Water monitoring station, Whitland Church, Login, and Glogue, with comparisons to results from August 2026 and previous months. Water temperatures decreased across the river network in September, reflecting the seasonal transition into early autumn. Downstream temperatures along the lower stretch were recorded at 16.5°C at Llandowror, 15.7°C at the Wa

Catchment Monitoring :Monthly Comparative Analysis | River Corran & Mackerel Lake Stream 1. Mackerel Lake Stream Catchment This catchment covers Llandawke, Broadway Caravan Park, and the Culvert bypass. Due to dry conditions, Llandawke had no water and remained unsampled in September. Ammonia (Good): Broadway Caravan Park registered 0.22 mg/L (up from 0.02 mg/L in August), while the Culvert remained at 0.00 mg/L. Although Broadway experienced an increase, it remains below the

Once again, our intrepid volunteers placed themselves on the riverbank and in the river at the Kiln Lane location – many thanks to Jenny for the use of her garden. With a group of six, a portable table, and some hard-won experience under our belts, both sampling and counting was much easier and quicker than our first foray. The weather was calm and sunny, which made for a pleasant time overlooking the fields from under the shade of the trees. Also, despite the very long dry s

Welsh water have a storm flow map which is updated daily on releases. I have started monitoring these releases to try and work out the pattern- if there is one. And why they happen- given no storms for the last 3 months. This is a image of the area where welsh water have works or storm overflows in the area which ends up in the Taf and so the estuary. The paler symbol in the above screen grab is a overflow that has released in the last 24 hours. I will update the spreadsheet

Before and after at the top of Stoneway and after at the bottom - large collection of plastics bottles cans and rubbish including the grit bin that has been emptied of waste.

Tails from the riverside! An intrepid band of merry volunteers entered the river Corran on Wednesday 19th August in search of evidence of aquatic life. This was part of the ongoing invertebrate survey, supported by the national Riverfly organisation, to assess the health of UK rivers. In addition, we were using this survey to introduce more volunteers to the scientific approach to river health analysis. We had chosen the bank below Laugharne Castle to set up our counting equi

This report provides an analysis of the water quality data collected across the River Taf in August 2026 at Llandowror, the Water monitoring station, Whitland Church, Login, and Glogue, with comparisons to results from July 2026 where available. Water temperatures across the main river remained elevated in August, consistent with summer seasonal norms. Downstream temperatures were recorded at 21.0°C at Llandowror, 20.4°C at the Water monitoring station, and 19.9°C at Whitland

1. Mackerel Lake Stream Catchment This catchment covers Llandawke, Broadway Caravan Park and the Culvert bypass. Due to the dry summer conditions Llandawke had no water and remained unsampled in August. Ammonia (Excellent): Both sampled sites maintained excellent background levels. Broadway Caravan Park registered 0.02 mg/L (down from 0.03 mg/L in July), while the Culvert dropped to 0.00 mg/L (down from 0.09 mg/L in July), remaining well below 0.3 mg/L which itself is conside

Laugharne Estuary Water Quality Report Monthly Comparative Analysis: August 2026 vs. Previous Months August 2026 recorded significant water quality improvements across the Laugharne Estuary, showing a strong recovery from the elevated nutrient and ammonia levels observed during earlier summer months (particularly May and July). Increased marine flushing alongside reduced catchment discharge has restored key indicators to safe, natural baseline ranges. Key Highlights for Augus

Birds of the Corran As swallows gather on wires and the joyful trilling of greenfinches continues unabated, it really is a good time to count our blessings. This spring and summer, with the help of the excellent Merlin app, I’ve been counting birds. This has resulted in large spreadsheets indicating what’s been ‘heard’ by Merlin and seen/heard by me. I take our old dog for a slow walk or my daughter’s much sprightlier hound for a longer one. Either way, I’ve been spending m

Bashing the Balsam: How to Reclaim Our Waterways and Woods If you’ve spent any time walking along our local riverbanks, marshes, or damp woodland edges lately, you’ve likely spotted a tall, attractive plant with explosive pink, helmet-shaped flowers. It looks beautiful, but don't be fooled—Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is one of the most aggressive invasive species threatening our local biodiversity. Because a single plant can launch up to 800 seeds over 7 meters

WATER QUALITY REPORT: JULY 2026 1. Mackerel Lake Stream Catchment This catchment monitoring includes Broadway Caravan Park and the Culvert bypass. Due to dry summer conditions, the Llandawke site had no water and could not be sampled this month. Ammonia: The stream shows very positive results, with Broadway Caravan Park registering at 0.03 mg/L and the Culvert at 0.09 mg/L. Both sites sit comfortably within the ecologically good threshold of less than 0.3 mg/L. Nitrate: Nitra

River Taf Water Quality Report: July 2026 Analysis & Historical Comparison This report summarises the water quality measurements taken across the River Taf in July 2026 at the Llandowror, Whitland Church, Water monitoring station, Login, and Glogue locations, comparing recent data against historical results dating back to November 2025. In line with summer weather patterns, water temperatures increased across all stations in July 2026, reaching approximately 20°C . This tempe