Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 21 September 2022.
Thank you. The Member is right; we are in drought status right across Wales, and certainly we've seen some prolonged dry weather this year. I think, again, it reflects the challenges that we do face in tackling climate change. I think one of the first things I would say is it's really important that we all, every single one of us—every member of the public, every business—use water wisely, and that we continue to use water wisely not just while we're in drought status, but all the time, and manage this very precious resource at this time. The Welsh Government brought together a drought liaison group—that was convened, I think, probably, early August. That continues to meet weekly, and that brings all stakeholders from right across Wales together to help steer the direction and agree the actions that we need to protect Welsh water resources. NRW's drought teams across Wales continue to meet regularly and, certainly, from my own portfolio, from an agricultural point of view, my officials continue to meet with them as well. There's a lot of ecological monitoring going on. They respond to incidents very quickly.
The point you raise around the Severn tunnel, I am aware of that. I think there have been some further discussions, or I think the Minister is looking, perhaps, to have some further discussions—I know that there were some in the past—between the water companies and Network Rail to see what could be done, maybe the potential transfer of the pumped tunnel water, for instance, to the main supply infrastructure. I don't think there have been any recent developments, but as I say, I think the Minister is looking to see what further can be done.