1. Will the Minister make a statement on the management of water levels in Llyn Clywedog reservoir, Powys? OQ58059

Thank you very much, Cefin Campbell, for the question. The management of water levels and releases from the Clywedog reservoir are governed by well-established and clear legislation. The Environment Agency in England has responsibility for managing the releases and water levels, in consultation with Natural Resources Wales.

Thank you very much. Recently I had a meeting with a number of farmers in the Llanidloes area in Powys and I discussed with them concerns about how water levels are managed in the Clywedog reservoir and the impact this was having further down the valley, with agricultural land and property being affected by flooding as recently as February this year.

Now, my fellow Member for Montgomeryshire, Russell George, has already drawn the attention of the Senedd to this, and apparently there is considerable ambiguity regarding who manages the reservoir and the water discharges—whether it's the Environment Agency in England or NRW. I know that water is a very emotive issue in Wales and that this reservoir was established to provide water and to mitigate flooding away from Wales, so I'm sure you understand local concerns. And it is arguable that mismanagement across institutions has caused flooding on this side of the border. So, may I ask what discussions the Welsh Government has had with the different agencies to address any concerns regarding flood management on Wales's side and can you confirm whether there is an intention to expand the Clywedog reservoir in the future?

Yes, thank you very much for that series of queries. And of course we understand the sensitivity of these kinds of issues for the people of Wales and also for all the people who rely on the rivers and catchment areas for a variety of things, including their drinking water.

So, as I'm sure you already know, Hafren Dyfrdwy owns the Clywedog reservoir. Proposals for additional use of the water or transfer options should be included in the company's water resource management plan. Both the Environment Agency and NRW recognise the impacts of high water flows to local landlords and further downstream on the River Severn. And all the organisations involved have committed to undertaking a long-term review to modernise the management of the reservoir to best meet the challenges of the future, which is obviously a really complicated thing to do, and which is likely to take quite a considerable period of time and new legislation to ensure that sustainable long-term change. Meanwhile, NRW is working with the Environment Agency to implement any possible changes to the working procedures under the current rules and legislation that could improve the current operation of the scheme, drawing on experiences of managing other comparable systems in Wales and elsewhere. The changes should have a beneficial impact on flood alleviation given the nature of the catchments, but it's unlikely that these changes could make significant differences during repeated rainfall events of the magnitude we've seen over the last few years, and hence the need for the longer term review of the whole process. 

Our policy is obviously to reduce and manage the risk of flooding to people and communities over the next decade and it's set out in the national flood strategy. It underlines the importance we place on flood risk and the growing risks associated with climate change from the flooding and coastal erosion.

Also, as part of the longer term planning for water supply, we're looking at schemes that could supply water where deficits are predicted over the next 50 years. Hafren Dyfrdwy, which operates the reservoir, as I've already said, and Severn Trent are looking at a joint scheme to look at the feasibility for the dam so that more water could be sent down the River Severn during dry periods—so the exact opposite of the flooding—to maintain water flow in the river, where a deficit is forecast. But that doesn't feature in the current draft water resource management plan, which is signed off by Welsh Ministers anyway. So, if that comes forward, it will certainly come to us to look at so that we can be satisfied that that is fit for purpose, both for the Severn catchment area and for the people locally.

Minister, I'm grateful to Cefin Campbell for raising this issue, an issue I've raised a number of times previously, about the frustrations that landowners have downstream as a result of, as they see it—and I would agree—the need for the operational rules to be changed for the Clywedog dam. Now, I understand it's a complex issue—I've raised this many times with your predecessors as well—but can I ask what consideration the Welsh Government has given to the payment to landowners for the managed flooding of land, where that would then help to alleviate flooding of properties perhaps further downstream? And also, Minister, I am aware, or—I attended a meeting with various stakeholders, including NRW, the Environment Agency, with the UK Government Minister Rebecca Pow, earlier this year—I know, from that meeting, the Minister was going to write to you to ask for further collaboration and working together. I wonder, have you received that letter, have you responded, and what are the discussions that you're having with the UK Government Minister Rebecca Pow in terms of coming up with a collaborative approach for the better management, and for reviewing the operating rules, of Clywedog dam?

Yes, I was aware that Minister Pow had visited the reservoir. And in fact, I discussed it with her beforehand, in an inter-ministerial group, but I think she probably mentioned that at the time. We're very keen to work across the border for the catchment areas that flow across the border, and indeed to share good practice where that's effective for the communities on either side of the border. Because, obviously, there are a number of catchments in England that don't cross into the Welsh border, but can nevertheless learn lessons from some of the natural flood protections that we're doing here in Wales, for example. So, we have had that exchange of letters.

And you know probably better than I do, actually, Russell, about the River Severn and its environmental importance as a special area of conservation river for Wales, for a whole series of uses, including drinking water and flood protection, drought protection, and so on. So, part of the long-term plan that I just mentioned in answer to Cefin Campbell is to look at what exactly it is that we're asking of the landowners—the riparian landowners and the adjoining landowners—along the River Severn catchment and around the reservoir, to work out what the long-term plan for that should look like, ought to look like, in collaboration with those landowners, and then to bring forward what we expect will be legislative change in order to bring about the ability to better manage that system. But that's a long-term strategy, which is in progress at the moment, and, obviously, I'm very happy to keep you and Cefin and others informed as we go ahead with that process.