2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 25 February 2020.

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Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 2:52, 25 February 2020

I'd like to ask for a statement on water resilience. You may find that a strange thing for me to ask, given the flooding of recent times, so perhaps I should say: drinking water resilience across Wales. I know that we have a statement on the emergency flood summit immediately after this statement. I think that this is an issue that may or may not come up during that statement, Minister, but it is one that is a standalone issue that needs to be looked at.

There was a pretty major issue with the Mayhill water treatment works in Monmouth last week, which I know the Minister is aware of. The treatment works were flooded. Dŵr Cymru could not get into the treatment works to fix it, so they ended up having to put on replacement tankers. They did an incredibly good job, actually, despite the fact that lots of the roads were flooded, and the worst-case scenario was warded off.

However, I wonder if, at this point in time, or once the floods subside, the Minister could look at drinking water resilience across Wales to make sure that, in future, any weak spots in the system like the Mayhill treatment station are dealt with, so that people across Wales can be sure that, when we in future do have more instances— as we probably will, with climate change increasing—like the recent flooding, the water system will be able to cope.