 As with many urban rivers , the Frome has suffered from pollution , but several stretches run through parks and reserves that sustain a range of wildlife . The power of the water was harnessed in many watermills and the area around the river mouth was developed as shipyards by the eighteenth century . As the city of Bristol developed in the nineteenth and twentieth century , flooding became a major problem , remedied by the construction of storm drains and diversions . 
