PLANS have recently been released issuing strategies to protect and improve Wales’ water environments over the next 6 years. The proposals, known as the River Basin Management Plans, have been compiled by National Resources Wales (NRW).
River Basin Management Plans are produced every 6 years and summarise the state of the local water environment, investigating factors which affect the quality of water and assessing ways to improve upon this.
The plans explain the steps that have to be taken in order to improve the quality of Welsh rivers, streams and lakes for both wildlife and people, an extension of what the Welsh Government wanted to achieve in their Environmental Bill.
Ceri Davies, NRW’s Executive Director, said: “We’ve made a lot of progress during the last 6 years, but there’s much more still to do and we can’t do it alone. Working with others is key to securing the improvements we want to see.”
“We will continue to work with the Liaison Panels, partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors such as the Rivers Trusts, Farming Groups, Local Authorities, Port Groups, Business and Industry and Fisheries Groups to deliver even better water quality in Wales,” Ms Davies continued.
River Basin Management Plans also take into consideration Welsh bodies of water as part of the wider environment. Actions proposed in the plan will improve the resilience of different ecosystems and deliver multiple benefits to the environment.
An example of this can be seen by improving land management in the uplands, it can produce a knock-on effect resulting in substantial benefits such as climate change resilience, carbon capture, flood storage and improved downstream water quality.
The plans explain that the main challenges to improving water quality are reducing the effects of sewage effluent, preventing pollution from industrial estates, dealing with metal mine water, advising on good land management and addressing major pressures on the water environment including over-abstraction of water.
Rhian Thomas, NRW Water Framework Directive Team Leader, said: “We all depend on our water for drinking, for agriculture or business, for recreation or to attract tourists. These plans aim to provide clean, healthy and improved water quality, reducing pollution and supporting more river life.”
There are 3 main river basin districts in Wales, which lie in the Dee and Severn Districts and in Western Wales. Each one has its own updated River Basin Management Plans. They can be viewed online at: https://naturalresources.wales/water/quality/.
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