Welsh Water rated “below average” for second year, after rise in serious pollution events

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has kept its two-star rating with Natural Resources Wales, the Welsh Government’s environmental agency.

NRW have published its annual performance reports for Nelson-based Welsh Water, which covers most of Wales, and the smaller Hafren Dyfrdwy.

The report highlights the worst performance from Welsh Water with the company responsible for a total of 107 sewage pollution incidents last year.

The number of serious pollution incidents rose from five to seven, including a major incident involving a burst sewer pipe on the River Taff at Pontypridd in March last year.

The report also flags concerns about a small but significant decline in water discharge permit compliance, dropping to 98%.

Improvements were made to the number of pollution incidents self-reported to NRW, rising to 70% during 2023, but still falling short of the minimum 80% target.

Welsh Water will stay at a two-star (below average) rating this year. Last year it was downgraded from three-star. It lost its four-star rating (industry leading) in 2022.

NRW has warned the company it needs to turnaround the downgrading trend.

Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW said: “Despite increased pressure from ourselves as regulators, and from politicians and the public, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water have failed to make the kind of improvements we want and expect to see.

“It is unacceptable that we are now seeing a year-on-year increase in significant pollution incidents, at a time where so much is being invested in improving our rivers and water quality for nature and people.

“In response, we continue to use all the enforcement tools available to us to drive improvements.  We are pursuing several formal investigations, including potential prosecutions relating to incidents and issues of permit compliance. While these processes can take time, we are absolutely committed to seeing them through.”

A Dwr Cymru Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We are disappointed with the assessment rating and acknowledge that our performance is not where we want it to be.

“Dwr Cymru takes its environmental responsibility seriously, we apologise for any environmental harm we have caused and are working tirelessly to deliver the improvements required in challenging circumstances.

“Climate Change and severe weather events are having an increasing impact on our infrastructure and is challenging how we deliver our services.

“During 2023 there were ten named storms that brought with them complex problems that we had to overcome.

“The difficult operating conditions meant that all water companies in England and Wales saw an increase in pollution incidents in 2023.”