Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:50 pm on 15 November 2022.
Diolch, Llywydd. Can I welcome the Minister's statement? The Minister is correct: over the next 20 years—in fact, the next 50 years—Wales faces wetter winters, hotter, drier summers, rising sea levels and more frequent and intense extreme weather events. Many of us growing up in the 1960s and 1970s were used to continual light rain; now we have long, dry spells, broken by very heavy rain, which can lead to flooding, often in areas that were never flooded before. Currently, over 60 per cent of rivers are failing phosphate targets, which is having a direct impact on wildlife. Pollution from sewage and wastewater is affecting rivers across Wales, including the River Tawe. Does the Minister agree that you cannot keep on putting phosphates, nitrates and sewage into our rivers without affecting both the quality of water and biodiversity? It doesn't disappear, it is still there. Tackling storm overflows is one of the many elements that need to be addressed if we are to improve river quality in Wales. Untreated sewage is regularly discharged at the Trebanos treatment works in the Neath constituency of Jeremy Miles and affects the River Tawe, causing problems for anglers and children playing in the river downstream, which includes your constituency and mine, Minister. Does the Minister agree that it's necessary to take action, including legislation, to stop the discharge of raw sewage into rivers? Unless we legislate, the water companies are not going to do anything.