River Lim: Return of wildlife welcomed but 'long way to go'

The west Dorset river was described as ‘ecologically dead’ last year after sewage was poured into it.

Data gathered by the River Trust on the River Lim showed an exponential rise in human waste surging into the river from storage tanks at a nearby  South West Water treatment centre.

Shocked former freshwater ecologist Graham Roberts said in May 2023 that the river, which flows through Uplyme and Lyme Regis, was 'absolutely disgusting'.

But News readers have now told of their delight after dippers and, more recently, a kingfisher was seen on the west Dorset river.

Reader Roger Boswell spotted the ‘colourful bird’ opposite the Leper’s Well a few days after a sighting of a dipper.

READ MORE: 

• River Lim 'ecologically dead' after sewage poured into it
• Dippers photographed on River Lim after more than a year
• Colourful kingfisher seen on 'ecologically dead' River Lim

Rob Thomas, a co-ordinator of the River Lim Action Group, said the signs of life returning to the river are ‘encouraging’.

“It’s great to have the dippers and kingfishers back, it’s an improvement to the ecology." he said.

“We’ve made some progress, we know the river is cleaner than it was but there is still a long way to go.”

Rob Thomas, River Lim Action Group (Image: Supplied) Mr Thomas, of Lyme Regis, said there is still a ‘major problem’ with sewage being discharged into the river following heavy rainfall.

“This is something that won’t be addressed overnight,” he said.

Mr Thomas said he had also heard reports of people now seeing large fish in the water course but river fly monitoring carried out by the action group has found no improvement.

The river is ‘constantly cleaning itself’, he said, but sewage regularly being discharged into the river is preventing it from doing so.

Campaigners wish to see the river return to its once-thriving ecology of 30 years ago when salmon and sea trout made the Lim their home.

The River Lim (Image: Graham Hunt Photography)

Amanda Broom, river catchment manager at the Dorset Wildlife Trust, told the News now is a good time of year to spot kingfishers as juveniles are dispersing to new territories.

She added: "All our rivers in Dorset are under huge pressure, including from sewage, other pollution, agriculture, habitat loss and climate change. 

"However, at Dorset Wildlife Trust we are fortunate to have a number of projects which work with water companies, farmers, landowners, local communities and other partners to both monitor the health of our water courses, such as through water guardians and the riverfly monitoring scheme, as well as support these groups to make improvements for wildlife and help restore natural processes."

A South West Water spokesperson said the firm is 'serious about tackling storm overflows and any change of this scale takes time, ambition, and increased investment.'

They added: "We have completed work in the Uplyme catchment to prevent ground water from entering and overwhelming our sewer and we have also been doing some work to stop illegal wastewater connections into our surface water network.

"We have committed to making improvements to all six of our storm overflows on the River Lim by March 2027.”