Welsh Lib Dems demand stronger penalties for river polluters

Last  week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats called for harsher penalties to deter water companies from dumping untreated raw sewage into Wales waterways.

 Back in October, A BBC report uncovered that the water supply has been illegally dumping untreated sewage into waterways across Wales.

With figures showing that between 40 and 50 wastewater treatment plants have been operating in breach of their permits. The worst offender of these being a plant located in Cardigan near the popular Poppit Sands beach.

According to data from Surfers Against Sewage this plant in particular discharged raw sewage 24 times in the past two years, breaching its permit limits.

The party are now calling for harsher punishments for companies like Dwr Cymru who are being found guilty of dumping raw sewage into waterways across Wales.

Commenting, Jane Dodds MS said:

“For far too long now, Dwr Cymru have got away with polluting our rivers and sea without any hint of punishment coming their way.

Since the shocking revelation in October that 40 to 50 wastewater treatment plants have been illegally dumping raw sewage in our waterways for years, nothing has been done to punish those responsible.

We have heard plenty of noise from the Welsh Government promising to act on these polluters. But I’m afraid so far that’s all we’ve been given, just noise and no follow through.

If we want to get serious about tackling water pollution, then we must make sure that there are serious ramifications for those guilty of harming our beautiful waterways.”