Welsh gov plans to clean rivers in Wales

Local TV

Cross border collaboration will be of massive importance in the fight to clean rivers in Wales, so the Welsh government want to work closely with the UK government.

Transcript

00:00Not least because our iconic rivers like the Severn, the Dee and the Wye of course cross

00:05national borders.

00:07What happens upstream in England impacts downstream in Wales and vice versa.

00:12And so we must work together and the renewed partnership we've seen since July is very

00:17welcome indeed and very long overdue.

00:20In doing this work we are building on what has already been achieved in Wales.

00:25Today three times as many rivers achieve a good ecological status in Wales at 44% than

00:32in England.

00:33It's an 8% improvement on the first classifications in 2009.

00:39The Deputy Prime Minister Huw Irranca-Davies says that more needs to be done to help the

00:43situation.

00:44And while things are in place to keep rivers as clean as possible, the Welsh Government

00:48have more planned.

00:51So we are moving in the right direction but we also know we need to go further and faster.

00:57With the reality of the climate crisis, the risk to our water sector is growing.

01:02The pressures on water supplies and on infrastructure are unprecedented and the importance of building

01:08resilience to climate change simply cannot be overstated.

01:13He says the cross-border element is important to the situation and wants both countries,

01:17England and Wales, to help each other, starting with regulations that give bodies more power

01:22to help clean rivers and prevent them from becoming more polluted in the future.

01:27It will take all of us, all of us, working together to not only address today's challenges

01:33but also to prepare us for those to come.

01:36So whilst there is a lot done, there is also a lot left to do.

01:42In that spirit of collaborative cross-border working, I have agreed that the UK Government's

01:47new Water Special Measures Bill be extended to Wales.

01:53This legislation will strengthen the powers of the regulator and address water pollution.

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