Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 14 February 2023.
Minister, as you are aware, flooding can seriously impact our communities, resulting in long-term environmental damage, destruction to property, disruption to our transport network and, sadly, even resulting, as my colleague Heledd said, in the loss of life. Another consequence of flooding is the risk of pollution from sewage and industrial chemicals, for example, contaminating our streams, rivers and coastlines, which can result in potential public health issues as well as killing fish and other marine animals, destroying valuable marine ecosystems and, in some cases, even entering our food chain. With this in mind, Minister, I'm interested to know what steps this Government is taking to reduce the likelihood of pollution incidents from sewage and industrial waste occurring during flooding, particularly in those areas you've identified as being at risk. What steps should be taken to stop commercial developments setting up that offer a possibility of a high risk of pollution on sites on or near floodplains? Thank you.