In a new report published today, the Welsh Parliament Environment Committee is calling on Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and the Welsh Government to accelerate measures to tackle pollution in Wales’ waters.

The Committee believes that Dŵr Cymru should set a more stretching target for reducing pollution incidents by 2030 with an ambitious target of zero pollution incidents as soon as possible.

Today’s report also calls on the Welsh Government to lay out its timetable for banning wet wipes containing plastic as soon as possible - the Committee heard how wet wipes cause the majority of blockages.

Commenting in the report’s Foreword, Llyr Gruffydd MS, Chair of the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, said:

“The water sector in England and Wales is facing a crisis. Following years of underinvestment in ageing infrastructure, mounting debts for some of England’s largest companies, and under-performance becoming the norm rather than the exception, the future of the sector has never been more uncertain.

“The ‘not-for-profit’ status of Dŵr Cymru means it has escaped some of the heavy criticism of many of its debt-laden privately-owned counterparts. But, recent performance reports show it’s barely treading water when it comes to delivering for its customers and the environment. Pollution, leakages, drinking water quality and supply interruptions are just some of the issues Dŵr Cymru is struggling with.

“Add to this growing public anger over sewage discharges and there’s only one conclusion to be drawn - Dŵr Cymru seriously needs to up its game.”

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee is calling for:

Recommendation 1. Dŵr Cymru should report back to the Committee within 6 months with an update on progress towards delivery of its service commitment plan required by Ofwat.

Recommendation 2. Dŵr Cymru should explain how it is planning against future climate pressures to mitigate the risk of serious pollution incidents such as those which occurred during the drought and high temperatures experienced in 2022.

Recommendation 3. Dŵr Cymru should commit to setting a more stretching target for reducing pollution incidents by 2030 than the current target of 24%. It should also commit to an ambition of zero pollution incidents in the shortest time possible

Recommendation 4. The Welsh Government should seek to introduce a ban on wet wipes containing plastic as soon as possible. It should report back to the Committee on the outcome of the joint consultation on a proposed ban and on the timeframe it is working towards for the introduction of a ban in Wales.

Recommendation 5. Dŵr Cymru should provide details of its internal governance arrangements and demonstrate how they are being utilised to hold company executives to account and to drive performance improvements.

Recommendation 6. Ofwat should clarify whether and how its performance-related pay recovery mechanism applies to Dŵr Cymru, given its ‘not-for-profit’ status.

Recommendation 7. Dŵr Cymru should commit to year-on-year improvements on its current 80% alignment of performance-related pay awarded to company executives with overall performance delivered to customers and the environment. It should also commit to an ambition to achieve 100% alignment in the shortest time possible.

Recommendation 8. The Welsh Government and its key partners, including Dŵr Cymru, should identify ways to effectively communicate Wales’ approach to tackling sewage discharges from storm overflows to improve public understanding.

Recommendation 9. Dŵr Cymru should publish details of its programme of work to tackle sewage discharges from storm overflow covering the short, medium and long-term and commit to publishing reports on progress towards delivery periodically.

Recommendation 10. The Welsh Government should consider extending NRW’s enforcement powers to enable the regulator to accept environmental undertakings for permit breaches under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016 and report back to theCommittee on the outcome.

Recommendation 11. NRW should review its regulatory and environment response to the issues at Cardigan Wastewater Treatment works with the aim of learning lessons. It should report back to the Committee on the findings of the review.

Recommendation 12. The Minister should provide an update on action taken to relieve pressure on the sewage system since the publication of the Committee’s Report on storm overflows in Wales (March 2022). This should include progress towards implementation of the recommendations arising from the review of Sustainable Drainage Systems.

The Committee expects all parties to respond to the recommendations.

Ofwat Chief Executive David Black was among a number of witnesses who appeared before the Committee to give oral evidence. The report cites:

“David Black said “there are differences between a for-profit ownership model and the Dŵr Cymru model” and “as a regulator, we need to be conscious of that when we're regulating the company, and we are”.

“He highlighted the “ability to recycle returns back to customers” as a benefit of Dŵr Cymru’s ‘not-for-profit’ status and the absence of shareholders to drive performance and hold managers to account as a ‘gap’. He added, the ‘not-for-profit’ model “shouldn't excuse poor performance and it shouldn't excuse inefficiency.”

Click here to download the full report