The launch of “Stop the Sewage”, is a new campaign group driven by elected Conservative Councillors based in the Gower Peninsular.
The mission is to reduce and ultimately stop Welsh Water sewage spills into our precious waterways, communicating progress to our residents.
Our coastline is enjoyed by communities, together with our thriving tourist trade who contribute significantly to our local economy.
The plan is a zero-tolerance approach to all sewage dumps, protecting our residents, our visitors and our natural environment.
Notes from our recent meeting with Welsh Water
Present at the meeting:
Councillors:
Cllr Will Thomas
Cllr Francesca O’Brien
Cllr Lyndon Jones MBE
Cllr Angela O’Connor
Welsh Water representatives:
Lauren Kinsey - Public Advisor
Matthew Roberts - Pollution Performance
Rebecca Jones - Community Engagement officer
Kelly Jordan - River Quality Manager
Andrew Williams – Supervisor
Notes – complied by Cllr Francesca O’Brien
Cllr Will Thomas opened the discussion explaining what the objectives and mission of the group was. Special emphasis was placed on assuring this is a regular meeting (minimum quarterly to start), with open and transparent communication that the Cllr’s can share with their residents. This is indeed in line with Welsh Water’s CEO’ s recent comments (Peter Perry), at the Welsh Affairs Committee, stating that Welsh Water welcome open and transparent communication.
Welsh Water initially offered to start with a presentation, but this was not taken up in the first instance as the Cllr’s wanted to make sure all of their main points were covered first – if there was time, the WW presentation could be looked at later in the meeting.
The main Cllr Questions, WW response’ and actions were as follows:
Councillors (Cllr’s) question – Are flow metres installed on the sewage outfall pipes?
Welsh Water (WW) stated that National Resource Wales (NRW), at this point in time, do not require WW to measure the volume discharged, therefore, they do not think it would be a good use of public money to spend on volume metres because the regulators (NRW), do not request it. It would cost too much to implement.
They only monitor frequency and duration, not volume of sewage discharge. As a result of this, they also do not know the mix/concentration in the discharge (i.e. how toxic the concentration is). Although, they did state that they thought it would be minimal. They confirmed they had no plans to test any volumes of sewage outfalls.
Action – The Cllrs would like further information regarding how WW deem a discharge to be safe or hazardous to human health (plus environmental damage), if they don’t know the discharge concentrations. Also, what is NRW’s plans to ensure WW install volume meters now, which is currently being rolled out by water companies in England, enforced by the Environment Agency (EA) in England.
Cllr’s question – Which were the worst sewage outfalls in the Gower area?
WW could not tell the Cllr’s which were the worst area for discharge and didn’t provide any data at the meeting. They kept referring to data published by NRW and that we would need to look at their website.
Action – Cllr’s will need to source this data themselves and analyse in readiness for the next meeting. Cllr’s felt disappointed that this data was not detailed at the meeting, considering it’s at the heart of the discussion.
Cllr’s question – What is the local environmental impact related to the sewage discharges?
WW replied that Welsh Government (WG) had produced a report which encourages a different approach to England, which is more environmentally friendly and has less impact on the local environment. The logic behind this was not explained. This was challenged by the Cllr’s as WW had already stated they did not know the toxic concentrations – if so, how do you measure environmental impact?
Action – Cllrs to read WG report and explore this again in detail at next meeting.
Cllr’s question - What is the difference between ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ discharges?
To make the discharge ‘legal’, WW apply to NRW for a permit. If they receive one, then it is classed as a ‘legal’ discharge.
Anything discharged without a permit is therefore illegal, or at least that is the terminology used by journalists, according to WW.
The Cllr’s struggled to understand the difference due to the following;
WW confirmed, storm overflows are automatic and not pre planned, therefore, permits are then granted retrospectively from NRW. To that end, discharges which fall out of permitted allowances can be retrospectively applied for. Does that then mean they then become legal instead of illegal?
Action – This is a grey area and further clarity is needed on these permits which can be discussed at next meeting.
Cllr’s question - What about the water quality for swimmers in our area?
WW stated that this was a matter for Public Health Wales (PHW) and Swansea City Council (SCC). It wasn’t deemed their responsibility (even though its WW’s discharge). WW estimated that there would be low levels of bacteria in the sea, however, it’s not recorded or monitored, so again the Cllr’s were a little confused as to how WW could say this and make this assumption?
Action – What is PHW and SCC view on this? Are they monitoring this? If so how often and is data available to our communities?
Action for the Cllr’s to make contact with PHW and SCC to understand this.
Cllr’s question – Last year one of our Cllr’s (Will Thomas), witnessed lorries removing waste from Langland, behind the huts, what was happening here?
WW confirmed a pump had failed and they were taking away sewage to stop the overflow. They couldn’t provide any more info into the issue with the pump and/or confirm what actions are being taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again. They confirmed Langland is an emergency overflow but is currently acting as a storm overflow. They want to put a camera there to monitor by the 1st April 2024 which will confirm the overflow. Outflow is currently blocked, meaning manholes will leak water!
WW stated that they needed to do inspections around Brynfield Road and the surrounding areas, because some houses may have tapped into surface water drains? Further work also needed to be done of an electrical failure of a pump.
Action – Cllr’s need to follow up on all WW actions above to assure successful completion
Cllr’s question – What is WW current and near future investment plans for the Gower area?
WW said they were pleased to announce a real time overflow app which is going live. This will give people an alert to discharges. WW would get back to the Cllr’s on the exact date. There were no other investment plans stated.
At the end of the meeting, the Cllr’s requested some further actions as follows:
- Trial a volume metre in Langland
- WW to send their presentation (there was no time at the end)
- A site visit to Bishopton – agreed for some time in May 2024
- To be sent the water strategic report from Welsh Government.
- To plan the next meeting with WW