6. Statement by the Minister for Climate Change: Water Quality

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:55 pm on 15 November 2022.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 4:55, 15 November 2022

I too thank you for your statement, Minister. You'll be well aware of the value of the Gwent levels, Minister, having set up the working group that I'm very pleased to chair and done much other work. They're a great example of sustainable drainage dating from the Roman times. There are, in fact, some 900 miles of waterways on those Gwent levels, and, of course, they sustain some very valuable wildlife, including water voles, which have been a great attraction in recent times. There have, though, Minister, been issues about water quality and indeed flooding, and that's very worrying to those who live there. There are many villages that are cheek by jowl with those Gwent levels, so I've had quite a lot of concern from local residents and businesses around those issues, and sometimes it's rather confusing to find out who's responsible. Is it Natural Resources Wales, is it the local authority, is it Welsh Water, is it British Rail in terms of the waterways and the culverts and so on? I think the plea from people and businesses living and operating locally, Minister, is: can Welsh Government work with those who have responsibility to make sure that there's proper clearance of those watercourses, that maintenance is always what it needs to be, so that we avoid the adverse water quality and flooding issues as much as possible in the future?