James Evans MS is urgently calling on the Welsh Government to take action to stop the Brecon and Monmouthshire from drying up.
BBC Wales has today reported on the story, stating the 19th century canal could run dry within days.
James has previously wrote to Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs Huw Irranca-Davies MS asking him to intervene and instruct NRW to reverse the restrictions placed on how much water the canal can take from the River Usk. James has also written to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Planning, Rebecca Evans MS, to ask that an impact assessment be carried out to understand the economic damage this decision will have on the many businesses that are associated with the Canal and on tourism to B&R.
Despite attempts to raise this issue as an oral question in the Senedd, James’ requests have not been accepted to date.
James Evans MS said:
“The decision to limit the water abstraction by NRW is threatening the future of the Brecon to Monmouthshire Canal. The response from Huw Irranca-Davies MS says this is necessary to protect our natural environment (of the River Usk) but this does not take into account the damage that could occur to the wildlife in and around the Canal should it dry up.
“Welsh Government are happy to sit back and allow our canal to run dry. The Minister suggests possible solutions between the Canal Trust and Dwr Cyrmu, but with both organisations facing financial difficulties, just where does the Welsh Government think the cost of this ‘solution’ which could be millions of pounds will come from? There is a solution – for NRW to reconsider its decision and allow the Canal to abstract water levels as it has for hundred of years”.
“I fear the Canal water levels will become critically low/run dry this summer and we will see the catastrophic effects this will have on the ecology. Businesses will suffer because of this decision, putting jobs and livelihoods at risk. The Canal is a major draw for tourists all year round as well as being enjoyed by many residents of B&R. That will not be the case when we have no water! I will keep raising this is the media and in the Senedd until a solution is found that ensures a thriving future for the Brecon to Monmouthshire Canal.”
James has also been in contact with Ian Christie, Managing Director of Water, Asset Planning and Capital Delivery at Dwr Cymru, who said:
“We share the concern on the future of Canal and its impact on the local community and have been working hard to come up with viable solutions to support when we can for a number of years.
“Due the sensitivity of abstractions from the River Usk we have limited options. We cannot comment on the abstraction licence conditions provided to the Canal and River Trust (CRT) as this is an issue between themselves and NRW who regulate abstractions and which we play no part in agreeing.
“The River Usk is one of the primary sources of providing drinking water to around 250,000 customers across South East Wales and remains one of our least drought resilient supply areas with limited water resource to deal with the impacts of climate change and population growth. This is set out in our Water Resource Management Plan we published in 2024 and although we have additional sources of water from across the Heads of the Valley and the River Wye our abstraction capacity is limited.
“We have proposed in the driest of years to supply some customers with water from the River Tawe through an emergency pumping station and use this spare capacity in abstraction from the River Usk to support the Canal along with a number of other options. However, this will come at a cost that we will have to recharge to CRT using designated Charges for this purpose and we are currently in negotiation with CRT into what this will be and if this is affordable to them. I’m afraid there is no option to provide this free of charge or to place undue risk to the future supply of drinking water to our customers.
“Welsh Water have been working closely with CRT, are in frequent dialogue at Senior Management level and will continue to support with the limited options we have available.
