How we will work to minimise pollution in our communities

South East Wales

In South East Wales, we will focus on the health of our rivers by delivering pollution prevention actions in the Central Monmouthshire Opportunity catchment. This will include working with landowners and farmers to deploy nature-based solutions to improve water quality in the lower Usk and Wye catchment, and undertake more compliance activity to help minimise the environmental impact of farming activities.

South Wales Central

We will also take a catchment-scale approach to improve the ecology and quality of our waters in the predominantly heavily modified urban rivers in South Wales Central. The river Ely opportunity catchment provides us with an opportunity to take a landscape approach in how we use our regulatory powers and to work with partners to take a more proactive, collaborative approach to tackling common issues such as water pollution from sources such as construction sites. We will also seek to restore catchment processes for the benefit of the environment and our communities.

As the Cardiff Capital Region continues to grow, we have an important role to play in preventing pollution from urban developments. We will use our regulatory powers to ensure industry compliance to improve air quality, and we’ll use our influence and statutory role in development planning to promote a regenerative economy that safeguards and restores the resilience of our ecosystems and the stocks of our natural resources. We will also advocate for transformation in the energy, transport and food sectors in our work with PSBs and the Cardiff Capital Region with the goal of supporting Welsh Government’s ambitions for a more prosperous Wales.

South West Wales

Working in partnership with the agricultural community and our regulated sites will also be a focus on how we minimise pollution to safeguard communities and protect the environment in South West Wales. In Pembrokeshire, we will continue to work with farmers, the processing, waste and water industries to improve the quality of our waters, our land and our air and enhance the habitats we find in the Cleddau Rivers Special Area of Conservation.

Our work to monitor and investigate the causes of pollution in South West Wales will also continue apace, using our evidence to drive asset improvements, inform how we take enforcement activity against polluters and to drive policy improvements related to land use in the area.

Mid Wales

In Mid Wales, we will take a catchment-scale approach to improving the ecology and quality of our rivers and coastal waters through the Upper Wye River Restoration Project and our work on the Wye, Usk and Teifi Nutrient Management Plan Boards. Using our evidence base, our advisory and regulatory powers, and the strength of our partnerships, we will work to restore catchments for the benefit of the environment and communities in this area.

North West Wales

In North West Wales, we will look to tackle issues around water quality and quantity, ecological restoration and community well-being alongside the North Wales Wildlife Trust as part of a multi-partner collaborative group. Together, we will develop a landscape-scale National Lottery Heritage Fund project bid based around the catchment of the Anglesey Fens – an area famed for its wetland and fen habitat which supports a wide range of unique plants and species.

North East Wales

We will take a catchment-scale approach to reducing pollution in North East Wales, working with partners such as the Dee Nutrient Management Board and the voluntary Clwyd Forum and Dee catchment partnerships to sustainably manage the land in this area. We will also work with communities and permit holders to ensure the environmental impacts are minimised at the sites we regulate.

Marine

Enhancing the water quality of our coasts and seas will be the focus of our work with partners around Marine Opportunity Catchments. We will continue to build on our work with National Trust Wales, North Wales Wildlife Trust and tenant farmers to invest in projects to minimise nutrient pollution in the Cemlyn Bay coastal lagoon on Anglesey. In South West Wales, we are also using the evidence gathered following poor water quality testing results in mussel fisheries in Swansea Bay to understand the failures and to inform more effective management procedures to prevent reoccurrence.