| River Afan | |
|---|---|
 The Afan nearCymmer | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Wales |
| Towns | Blaengwynfi,Cymmer,Cwmafan,Port Talbot, |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Mynydd Llangeinwyr |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • right | Afon Corrwg, Afon Pelenna |
TheRiver Afan (Welsh:Afon Afan) is a river inWales whose valley formed the territory of themedieval Lords of Afan. TheAfan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river. The valley is traversed by theA4107 road. Settlements in the area includeCwmafan,Pontrhydyfen andCymmer. The town ofAberavon, whose name in WelshAberafan means 'mouth of the Afan', grew up on the banks of the river and was later subsumed by the town ofPort Talbot.
Multiple hypotheses exist regarding the origin of the river's name. One suggestion is that it is from "A-Ban" meaning "from the heights" due to its comparatively quick descent from hills to the sea. (Compare to the 'Ban' in "Bannau Brycheiniog", the Brecon Beacons).[1] However, such a name would be very unusual for a river. It is not parallelled elsewhere, and does not fit in with the pattern of Welsh stream and river nomenclature in general. A. D. Mills believes the river derives ultimately from a personal name.[2]
The Afan rises on the northern slopes ofMynydd Llangeinwyr to the east ofBlaengwynfi, and flows in a generally south-westerly direction roughly parallel to theRiver Neath with which it shares its westernwatershed.
The river passes theAfan Argoed Country Park in its middle reaches. It converges with the river Pelenna atPontrhydyfen. From here it turns southward towards Port Talbot.
To aid the construction of the docks at Port Talbot, the river was impounded and a diversion channel built that now forms the lower reaches of this river. There are two weirs in this final tidal reach of the Afan; Greenpark Weir at the upstream tidal limit, which has been reconstructed in 2017 and provides headwaters for the dock feeder channel that approximately follows the river's original route, and Newbridge Weir, which is the most downstream weir, presents a barrier to fish passage and is in a poor state of repair.
Amotte and bailey castle stood on the banks of the river as it passed throughAberavon during themedieval period. No remains are now visible above ground, but the site of the castle is commemorated in local street names.
To the east the Afan borders theRiver Kenfig and then theRiver Llynfi, atributary of theRiver Ogmore. The Afan shares a watershed with theRhondda Fawr, a tributary of theRiver Taff.
For much of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the River Afan was severely polluted by the coal and iron industries. With the decline in the coal mining industry, the quality of the river improved in the 1960s and 1970s so that somesalmon andsea trout started to return to the river to spawn. A number ofweirs on the river had to be made passable to allow fish to ascend the river. This required the creation offish passes on some weirs such as on the Dock feeder weir and the demolition of others such as at Corlannau weir.
The Corrwg is one of the Afan's principal tributaries. Its length is approximately 11 km, and its source lies above the village ofGlyncorrwg, in the hills south ofGlyn-neath. It has a major tributary,Afon Corrwg Fechan, as well as numerous tributary streams. Several waterfalls exist along the river's course. Although the water is clear today, discharge from the many collieries along its lower reaches led to significant pollution. Minor discharge sometimes leaks from the Glyncorrwg colliery, although its effects do not have a noticeably detrimental effect on the river.
The Pelenna, a major tributary that meets the Afan atPontrhydyfen, suffered more severely from pollution than the main river because of the sulphur-rich coal that was produced by the mines in that area. As a result, the abandoned coal mines continued to dischargeacid mine drainage rich in iron and highly acidic. This turned much of the river orange down to the confluence of the Pelena with the main river Afan. The orange colour could often be seen as far down stream asPontrhydyfen. There were a number of collieries contributing to the pollution although the major source was the Whitworth Colliery.[3] At the height of coal extraction in the valley, there were several deep pits and numerous levels. This pollution is now much mitigated[4]following extensive work promoted by theEnvironment Agency in the creation ofengineered reed beds to treat the mine drainage.
Nant Ffrwdwyllt was a small tributary of the Afan, just under 8 km and joining the Afan close to the sea. It was diverted in the 18th century into the ironworks at what was to become Port Talbot, to provide a source of water. It remains diverted, flowing intoPort Talbot Docks.
51°37′59″N3°44′02″W / 51.63294°N 3.73398°W /51.63294; -3.73398
