Pet owners blamed for 'polluting Welsh rivers'

NATIONWIDE sampling of Welsh rivers has revealed that pet owners are partly responsible for poor water quality.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

A cocktail of 20 chemicals found in sampling found high concentrations of the insecticide imidacloprid, which is used in spot-on flea and tick treatments for pets.

The latest Great UK WaterBlitz, which took place in September, saw volunteers test 208 freshwater sites in Wales.

By region, those in northeast Wales were rated worst for water quality, though the country's rivers generally fared better than those in England and Scotland.

As well as nitrates and phosphates typically originating from sewage discharges, agricultural runoff and domestic sources - Imperial College London also analysed water samples for chemicals. Every single one was found to contain chemical pollution.

Imidacloprid was at concentrations posing the highest risk to aquatic invertebrates, according to Earthwatch Europe.