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| River Ely | |
|---|---|
 The river flowing throughPeterston-super-Ely | |
 | |
| Native name | Afon Elái (Welsh) |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom,Wales |
| Region | South Wales |
| County | Vale of Glamorgan,Cardiff,Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Cities | Tonyrefail,Llantrisant,Pontyclun,Peterston-super-Ely,Ely,Cardiff,Penarth |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Northwest ofTonyrefail,Rhondda Cynon Taf,Wales |
| • coordinates | 51°36′12″N3°27′36″W / 51.6034°N 3.460°W /51.6034; -3.460 |
| • elevation | 580 m (1,900 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Cardiff Bay |
• coordinates | 51°27′22″N3°10′26″W / 51.456°N 3.174°W /51.456; -3.174 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 39.6 km (24.6 mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Cardiff Bay |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Nant Muchud,Afon Clun |
| • right | Nant y Drope |
TheRiver Ely (Welsh:Afon Elái) is inSouth Wales flowing generally southeast, fromTonyrefail toCardiff.
The river is about 24 miles (39 km) long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south ofTonypandy, near the town ofTonyrefail, rising in the eastern slopes of Mynydd Penygraig (Penygraig) and Mynydd y Gilfach (Penrhiwfer) and the western slopes of Mynydd Dinas (Williamstown), whose eastern slopes feed theRhondda byPorth. The source of theOgwr Fach lies just to the west.
After flowing through Tonyrefail and through the grounds of theRoyal Glamorgan Hospital atYnysmaerdy, it follows theA4119 road through the valley pass formed between Mynydd Garthmaelwg, to the west andLlantrisant, to the east. Flowing throughTalbot Green, the Ely is joined by theAfon Clun atPontyclun. Although numerous smaller streams join the river, the Clun is its only large tributary.
The Ely turns to the southeast on reaching theVale of Glamorgan alongside theSouth Wales Main Line immediately south ofMiskin and after being traversed by theM4 motorway, it flows through farmland. It passes theSt Fagans National History Museum and continues towardsCardiff andEly (Welsh:Trelái) before flowing under theVale of Glamorgan Line and into Cardiff Bay atPenarth Marina.
TheEly Subway is a closed pedestrian tunnel under the mouth of the Ely. The tunnel opened in 1900 replacing achain ferry, and was used by workers atCardiff Docks andPenarth Dock. It was closed in 1965.[1][2][3]
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The Ely has had a long history of moderate to severe pollution from which it is now recovering. Prior to the 1980s it had received large volumes of poorly treated or untreated sewage from the urban areas in the valleys. Even after the construction of sewage treatment works atMiskin andRhiwsaeson, the quality of the effluent continued to cause pollution until the late 1980s.
These problems were exacerbated by the highly polluting discharge fromCoedelycoke ovens. At the mouth of the river, the effluent a largepaper mill rendered large parts of the estuaryanoxic for most of the tidal cycle preventing the passage of migratory fish. The recovery of the river since that time owes much to the regulatory effort of theNRA, and more lately theEnvironment Agency Wales, and to the massive capital investment made byDŵr Cymru / Welsh Water.
As the pollution of the river abated, so fish populations slowly returned to the river from the many small tributaries.Roach,Brown trout,perch,chub,eel,grayling,sea trout andsalmon and more recently somebarbel.
The river has flooded its banks on several occasions including 2008 when 27 homes were flooded, and in 2011, 2012 and in 2020.[4]
TheCountryside Council for Wales andCardiff Council have developed a cycleway beside the river, known as theEly Trail. The benefits are to allow people from urban western Cardiff easier access to the countryside, and for people in rural areas to have another commuting option into the city centre.[5][6][7]
The River Ely passes through the following:
| Motorways and A roads | |
|---|---|
| Pedestrian precincts and commercial streets | |
| Bus | |
| Cycling | |
| Railway lines | |
| Railway operators | |
| Major railway stations | |
| Other city railway stations | |
| Air | |
| Water | |
| Proposed transport network |  South Wales Metro
|
