Dwr Cymru Welsh Water have shared a statement in response to a press release shared by Leigh Day in relation to the River Wye pollution legal claim.
A Dwr Cymru Welsh Water spokesperson said:
We have just received a Letter Before Action and require time to consider the contents carefully before responding
We take our responsibility for protecting the environment seriously and over the next five years will invest £2.5 billion to improve the environment.
Last spring we completed seven investment schemes, totalling £53million, on the Wye a year ahead of schedule. This followed £17m investment at another six sites in recent years.
We are currently investing heavily to the benefit of the Usk – with £20m on our assets on the river and another £13m on a green alternative to a storm overflow which is on the Afon Lwyd, which feeds into the Usk.
Press release from Leigh Day:
River Wye pollution legal claim will include Welsh Water as well as Avara Foods Ltd
Legal action over pollution in the Wye, Lugg and Usk catchment area has been expanded to include Welsh Water (WW) as well as Cargill Plc, Avara Foods and Freemans of Newent as defendants.
Sewage spills by the water company into the Wye, Lugg and Usk and surrounding rivers make Welsh Water also accountable for pollution that has damaged the river water quality, says law firm Leigh Day.
The law firm, which now has a base in Hereford to handle demand for the legal claim to hold alleged polluters to account, launched its action in March 2024.
Initially Avara Foods, Cargill Plc and Freemans of Newent were named as the primary defendants in the legal action alleging public and private nuisance and breaches of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The companies deny the allegations.
Leigh Day claims industrial-scale chicken production managed by Avara is responsible for the bulk of river water pollution in the Wye catchment.
It says manure that runs off into the rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk creates phosphorus and nitrate pollution resulting in algal blooms, which block sunlight and deprive the water of oxygen.
However, phosphorus and nitrates that are also present in sewage discharges from Welsh Water’s operations are also contributing to the pollution of the rivers, says Leigh Day.
Now, as a result of a July 2024 Supreme Court ruling that a sewage nuisance claim can be brought against a water company, Leigh Day is able to add Welsh Water to the legal action.
A letter before action has been sent to Welsh Water, alleging that sewerage operations from the water company have materially contributed to the pollution of the Wye, Lugg and Usk, resulting in problems with odour, insect swarms, biodiversity loss, and poor water quality.
A letter outlining similar allegations against Avara, with its 50 per cent shareholder Cargill PLC and subsidiary company Freemans of Newent, was sent last year.
Cargill, Avara and Freemans of Newent deny the allegations.
The civil legal action against Welsh Water argues that sewage discharges from the water company, which are high in phosphorus and bacteria due to human faeces, have materially contributed to the pollution of the river.
The effects of this include interfering with residents’ enjoyment of the river in activities such as wild swimming and fishing, as well as negatively impacting businesses which rely on the condition of the river.
Organisations including the Environment Agency (EA) report wastewater treatment works and sewage discharges as other contributors to phosphorus pollution in the Wye.
Reporting from WW itself in May 2023 estimated that 23 per cent of phosphorus in the Wye had come from its own wastewater treatment works.
In June 2024, the EA successfully prosecuted WW for breaking the conditions of an environmental permit at a sewage treatment works near Hereford between August 2020 and June 2021, with the court finding that WW had exceeded permitted levels of wastewater into the River Wye.
Annual Event Duration Monitoring data published by WW shows that between 2021-2023, Welsh Water has been responsible for spilling in the River Wye Catchment over 89,000 hours, an equivalent of over 3,000 days.
Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland, who is leading the claim, said:
“It is important that we hold all of the corporations that we allege are the biggest polluters of the Wye, Lugg and Usk to account in the legal action.
“We believe that the evidence points to Welsh Water as a major contributor to the pollution of the Wye, Usk and Lugg. This legal action is not just about a single company or entity – it is about ensuring more widely that enough is being done to stop UK rivers and waterways from deteriorating.
“Last year’s Supreme Court ruling in the case of Manchester Ship Canal v United Utilities has paved the way for Leigh Day to be able to expand the Wye legal claim. At present this will be the biggest nuisance claim for sewage operations against a water company in the UK.”
The legal claim is supported by campaign group River Action, whose chair Charles Watson, added:
“With the addition of Welsh Water as a defendant, this legal action is clearly shaping up to be one of the most significant pieces of litigation relating to river pollution yet witnessed in the UK.
“The extensive work carried out by Leigh Day in recent months has now developed a holistic map of what are believed to be the principal sources of the chronic pollution of this iconic British River and there is now nowhere for the bodies we believe are the principal perpetrators of this scandal to hide.”
Leigh Day will hold an event in Hereford Left Bank on the evening of Thursday 20 February 2025, for members of the community to talk to the legal team about the claim against Welsh Water.
