Councillors in Tenby are to call upon Wales’ First Minister over an issue surrounding promises to replace the seaside town’s leaky main sewage pipe - with councillors calling for Ofwat and Dŵr Cymru to ‘come clean’ and work out whose responsibility it is to fix the problem, before another pollution threat arises.

Pressure put on Welsh Water/Dŵr Cymru following the leak from Tenby’s main sewage pipe back at the start of July, which almost led to a pollution disaster for the seaside town’s beaches over the summer holidays, saw the company’s Managing Director of Wastewater admit that the pipe needs replacing as soon as possible.

Dŵr Cymru informed a meeting with Tenby Councillors last month, that a new rising main for Tenby had been included in its proposed work programme for 2025-30, but according to discussions, unfortunately plans were initially rejected by financial regulator Ofwat - a claim that Ofwat has since refuted.

Cllr Duncan Whitehurst who is also chair of the Tenby Clean Seas Working Group wrote to Wales’ Deputy First Minister in relation to the issue, but they stated it would ‘not be appropriate’ for them to intervene with the water company or Ofwat as to how individual investment proposals are prioritised or funded.

In response, at this month’s meeting of the Town Council, Cllr. Laurence Blackhall commented that Ofwat and Dŵr Cymru should both be answerable to Welsh Government, stating that he felt the Deputy Minister’s reply was ‘not good enough’.

“He needs to speak to the Chief Executives of both organisations to sort this out,” stated Cllr Blackhall.

“This is not just routine maintenance; it is fundamental to tourism in our town.

“Tourism is the biggest section of our economy; another failure would be a disaster to that economy.

“We are talking about people’s jobs and lives. Saying that he is not able to intervene is simply not good enough,” added Cllr. Blackhall who proposed the Town Council contact Wales’ First Minister Eluned Morgan for assistance in resolving the issue.

“We expect Ofwat and Dŵr Cymru to come clean, and work out whose responsibility it is, and get on with it!” he added.

Dŵr Cymru's River Quality Liaison Manager for West Wales had also been in touch to state they have been installing improved pumps on the rising main in advance of Ironman Wales, which will reduce the risk of another burst to the rising main.