Lincoln Centre for Water and Planetary Health Supporting National Rivers Campaign

Professors Mark Macklin and Chris Thomas, Co-Directors of the Lincoln Centre for Water and Planetary Health at the University of Lincoln, UK, have joined forces with the New Scientist in support of the Save Britain’s Rivers Campaign.

Launched by The New Scientist in collaboration with The i, the Save Britain’s Rivers Campaign looks at the critical issues facing Britain’s waterways today. The campaign seeks to uncover what has gone wrong, examining the neglect, pollution, and over-exploitation of waterways, and how they can be restored.

Mark and Chris recently visited Ceredigion in Wales with the New Scientist team, to discuss metal contamination from Cwmystwyth Mine, which at its peak in the 19th Century was one of the largest silver, lead, and zinc mines in Britain.

This legacy means that, despite being closed for nearly a hundred years, the mine continues to contribute to river pollution to this day. Rain washes metal contaminated sediment from the mine into streams and rivers, where it accumulates in riverbanks and floodplains for many miles downstream.

Over time this can lead to severe contamination along some parts of the river, often exceeding benchmark health safety levels. The pair’s work examines how flooding, which is increasing in frequency and magnitude as a result of climate change, can uncover this buried pollution, bringing it back to the surface and into the water.

The pollution has the potential to affect the nearby human and livestock populations. Livestock in particular are at risk of contamination, with fears that the metal pollution can also increase the levels of some antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Mark and Chris are studying these possible impacts posed from both abandoned and operational mines, in the UK and across the world, through a combination of fieldwork and sophisticated modelling to better understand their impact on the environment and how this can be redressed.

Speaking about the chance to work on the Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, Professor Mark Macklin said: “It was a privilege to be invited by New Scientist to help with their ongoing Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, and reflects Lincoln Centre of Water and Planetary Health’s reputation as one of the leaders in the study of the environmental and health impacts of metal mining on rivers both in the UK and worldwide.

“We have developed new mapping and modelling tools that will help with both the remediation of river channels and floodplains contaminated by past mining, as well as the construction of new mines.”

Professor Chris Thomas adds: “Rapid growth in global metal mining is crucial if the world is to make the transition to green energy. Studying the impact and continuing legacy of past mining on the environment is helping us plan how to reduce and mitigate the potential impacts from new mining. This is a key challenge and opportunity for the industry.”

The short film produced by New Scientist about Mark and Chris’ trip to Cwmystwyth, Toxic Legacy: Mine Waste in our Rivers, is available on the New Scientist website.