Water summit sets out new action plan to improve river quality across Wales

Daniel Bevan - Editor

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Families, wildlife and rural communities across Wales will benefit from cleaner rivers following a Water Summit which confirmed progress on water quality improvement. 

The summit, held at Hensol Castle on 22 January and Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS, brought together representatives from government, regulators, industry, environmental organisations and farming unions to review progress and agree next steps on restoring Wales’s waterbodies, with a particular focus on agriculture.

Speaking at the event, Irranca-Davies said: “Water is at the heart of Welsh life, our communities, our farms, our wildlife, our sense of place – and as we all know, it is under pressure.

“The challenges we face are complex, interconnected and longstanding.

“But the work underway across government, regulators, industry, NGOs and farming unions gives me confidence that we are moving with purpose and in partnership.”

The Welsh Government confirmed it is revising agricultural pollution regulations following an independent review.

A Task and Finish Group is working through the recommendations in phases, with the aim of making the rules clearer, more proportionate and more focused on higher-risk activities.

Natural Resources Wales reported that joint working with farms has raised compliance rates from 37 per cent to 47 per cent.

Enforcement funding will rise to £1.58 million in 2025–26 as part of a total £4.13 million commitment.

Two further initiatives were outlined at the summit. The Integrated Natural Resources Scheme will open a new application window later this year, targeting projects that improve water quality through nature-based solutions at a landscape scale. Further details are expected before the end of March.

In addition, the potential for farm-level pilot projects to support the implementation of recommendations from the Control of Agricultural Pollutions Regulations review will be fed back to the Task and Finish Group for consideration.

Concluding the summit, the Deputy First Minister said: “Our ambition is clear: healthier rivers, a sustainable and profitable farming sector, thriving rural communities, a regulatory system that is fair, proportionate and enforceable, and new economic opportunities in nature-based investment and environmental markets.

“This is a collective mission. No one sector created the problem, and no one sector can solve it. But together, with the right evidence, the right investment, the right incentives and the right regulation, we can restore Wales’ waterbodies to the healthy, living systems that our communities, our wildlife and our economy deserve.”

The Welsh Government said a Green Paper on the future of water governance in Wales will be published next month, setting out the first stage of wider reforms.