An additional £16m has been announced to tackle issues that
threaten Wales' water quality.
The announcement was made by the Deputy First Minister with
responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, during a recent visit to the Uwch Conwy
catchment project in north Wales - one of the projects which has
benefited from £40m funding through the Water Quality Capital
Programme.
The additional funding will allow Natural Resources Wales and the
Mining Remediation Authority to tackle some of the key issues
that threaten our water environment. These include rivers that
have been modified from their natural state, pollution from
towns, cities and transport, pollution from rural areas and
pollution from historic metal mines.
The Deputy First Minister, said: “I know how strongly people feel
about improving water quality and restoring our rivers – and
rightly so. That's why we have provided NRW and the MRA with an
extra £16 million of funding this year in the draft budget to do
just that
I'm so proud that capital spending exceeds £3bn for the first
time in our draft budget, and that includes money to improve
water quality and restore our rivers.
Having benefited from previous funding, the Uwch Conwy catchment
project is a partnership project between Natural Resources Wales
and National Trust Cymru and has enabled collaboration between
tenants, farmers, landowners, and communities to deliver benefits
to people who live in the Conwy Valley.
Speaking about the recent visit to Capel Curig, the Deputy First
Minister, said: ”It's been fascinating to learn more about the
work that's been going on here in the Uwch Conwy catchment since
2020.
“From re-profiling sections of riverbank so that the river can
reconnect to the floodplain; introducing boulders back into the
river; planting trees to stabilize riverbanks and restoring peat
habitats – these are all great examples of how we can take action
to bring a whole range of benefits to both water quality and
nature.
“The project has also created better access to the area for
people, by improving the footpaths, replacing bridges and
creating permissive pathway so that people can enjoy their local
area. I look forward to seeing more projects like this with the
additional funding.”
Euros Jones, NRW's Operations Manager for North West Wales, said:
“This funding from Welsh Government allows us to tackle some of
the key issues that threaten the water environment including
climate change impacts.
“Improving water quality is key to protect habitats and species
and benefit people's wellbeing.
“Welsh Government funding allows us, through our Water Capital
Programme, to ensure the right activities are implemented in the
right place which allows us to contribute to the longer-term
objective of achieving the Sustainable Management of Natural
Resources for the water environment and Wales' wellbeing goals.”
Notes to editors
• A wide-ranging, independent review of policy and regulation in
the water sector is underway and will report to both Welsh
Government and Defra later this year.
• We will continue working closely with partners in UK Government
and across the water sector to realise our shared goals of a
cleaner and more environmentally responsible Wales .
• The Welsh Government is working closely with the UK Government
in developing the Water (Special Measures) Bill which aims to
strengthen the regulation of water companies and support the
longer-term work of cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas.
• NRW and WG are working in partnership with National Trust in
the Upper Conwy on a landscape scale project
• Covering 3% of Wales (337km squared) the Uwch Conwy Catchment
Project is an example of this work and we are collaborating with
tenants, farmers, landowners, and communities to deliver benefits
to nature and people who live in the Conwy Valley.
• This is a great example of partnership working looking at
innovative ways to benefit the environment.
• Work took place at Dyffryn Mymbyr, a National Trust tenant farm
in Conwy County, to re-profile sections of riverbank so the river
could reconnect to the floodplain, reducing flood risk, while
boulders were reintroduced into the channel creating pools and
riffles, enabling gravels to collect and create spawning
beds.
• Trees have been planted on the riverbank to stabilize banks,
provide shade, cover for fish from predation by birds and
providing a valuable wildlife corridor for bats and small
mammals.
• Cattle management has also taken place to reduce the input of
sediment into the river
