Roch Cheroux, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Chief Executive explains why the role storm overflows play in protecting properties does not remove the need to reduce their environmental impact.

Roch Cheroux: Wales’s rivers, lakes and coastline are part of what makes our country special. Protecting and improving them is an ambition that brings us together - and one that is central to the future we are building at Welsh Water.

Roch Cheroux: We have an opportunity to make lasting improvements: healthier waters, more resilient services and communities better prepared for a changing climate. Turning that opportunity into reality is shaping both the investments we are making today and our plans for the next 25 years.

Between 2025 and 2030, we are investing a record £2.5 billion in environmental improvements, including £889 million to reduce the impact of storm overflows. That investment will help us strengthen our infrastructure, tackle the overflows that cause the greatest harm and develop new ways of working with nature.

Our customers are helping shape what comes next. More than 6,000 people have already shared their views as we develop Welsh Water’s new long-term strategy. They want reliable drinking water, effective wastewater services and visible improvements to the environment. They expect us to maintain our assets properly, invest before problems occur and make every pound count.

Those expectations are at the heart of our plans. As a company with no shareholders, our focus is on delivering for the customers and communities we serve, today and for generations to come.

We also recognise that confidence in our plans must be earned through results. Our environmental performance needs to improve, and customers rightly expect to see sustained progress. The investment they fund must translate into better services and a healthier environment.

Making that progress means explaining clearly how our network works, where the challenges lie and what we are doing to address them.

Recent headlines about sewage discharges have understandably prompted questions about why they happen and how they can be reduced.

Much of Wales’s sewer network carries both wastewater from homes and businesses and rainwater from roofs, roads and other hard surfaces. During very wet weather, the volume entering those sewers can exceed their capacity. Storm overflows provide a release point, helping prevent sewage backing up into homes, schools and businesses.

Their role in protecting properties does not remove the need to reduce their environmental impact. That requires investment in the network, effective maintenance and measures to keep more rainwater out of sewers in the first place.

There are practical opportunities to do this. Green spaces, wetlands and more sustainable drainage can help slow and absorb rainfall, reducing pressure on sewers while creating better places for people and wildlife. Working with councils, developers and communities will help us make these approaches a greater part of the solution.

We must also distinguish between storm overflow operation and pollution caused by failures in our assets or operations. Where something goes wrong, our responsibility is to respond quickly, address the cause and prevent it happening again. Across both, our focus must be on reducing harm and delivering measurable environmental improvement.

Healthier rivers and seas also depend on coordinated action across the wider catchment. Agricultural runoff, urban drainage, industrial discharges, misconnected drains and poorly maintained septic tanks can all affect water quality. We must fulfil our responsibilities while working with others to achieve the improvements that none of us can deliver alone.

The changes being considered to water regulation offer an opportunity to support that shared effort. Clear priorities, long-term planning and closer coordination between organisations can help investment deliver more for customers and the environment.

Our new strategy will set out how Welsh Water intends to contribute over the next quarter of a century. It will guide decisions about investment, affordability and resilience, while keeping us focused on the everyday services customers depend on.

We want customers and stakeholders to keep helping us shape those choices. Their experience, ideas and expectations will be essential to developing a strategy that reflects what Wales needs.

There is much to do, and a clear purpose behind it: cleaner waters, dependable services and a stronger legacy for future generations. Through sustained investment, innovation and partnership, we are determined to make that future a reality.

Welsh Water launched the public consultation on its draft Strategy setting out its direction for 2030 to 2055.on 15th October.