Town councillors in Tenby are to meet with Welsh Water/Dŵr Cymru representatives this week to raise concerns over longstanding issues at the seaside town’s sewage pumping station, which resulted in a rising main pipe bursting which threatened a major pollution issue earlier this month.

Calls have been made by Cllr Michael Williams, Tenby north’s county councillor for Pembrokeshire County Council to prosecute the water company over the matter; whilst town councillor Duncan Whitehurst chair of the Tenby Clean Seas Working Group has said that members of the Town Council will meet Dŵr Cymru officials this week to find out exactly what caused the rising main to burst for the second time since June 2023.

“We will ask what pollution levels were measured, resulting in Natural Resources Wales declaring an ‘Abnormal Situation’ and what short-term and future plans Dŵr Cymru has to prevent it from happening again,” said Cllr Whitehurst.

Following the pollution alert declared by Natural Resources Wales, Cllr Whitehurst spoke at OFWAT’s ‘Your Water Your Say’ conference to ask if OFWAT has approved Dŵr Cymru’s £3.7 million plan to replace the rising main between 2025 and 2030.

“From reading OFWAT’s Draft Price Review 2024 report, it looks like OFWAT has rejected Dŵr Cymru’s proposals on the grounds of value for money,” he continued.

“However, the report is so difficult to understand that it’s hard to tell if the work has been approved or not.

“OFWAT could not confirm this at the meeting and promised a written response from their CEO explaining their decision.

“We will continue to scrutinise the evidence and challenge any organisation that tries to block or delay the urgently needed replacement of the rising main.

“I also drew OFWAT’s attention to St.Florence sewage works, which exceeded its Dry Weather Flow Limit on 141 dry days last year. It released more stage two treated waste into the River Ritec than its operating permit allowed.

“Stage two treated waste is sewage with the solids removed. St.Florence sewage works is permitted to empty up to 134 litres per day on dry days - but on some dry days, St.Florence released volumes in excess of 800 litres per day into the upper reaches of the Ritec.

“OFWAT are investigating and will take enforcement action if a breach of permit conditions is confirmed,” he added.

Responding to recent criticism of the water company, Steve Wilson, Managing Director of Wastewater Services at Welsh Water said: “We have always sought to be honest and transparent about the work we do in our communities.

“This includes the incident on the burst sewer off Clickett Lane, Tenby, at the start of July. We discovered the issue and mobilised crews to promptly isolate the damaged pipe and minimise any impact on the environment whilst we completed the repair.

“We also reported it to our regulator NRW and remained in regular contact.

“We were honest about the likely timescales for the work to replace to sewer to be carried out, which has been listed in our next investment period of 2025 to 2030.

“We work hard to deliver an improving environment whilst balancing bills to customers and we are sorry when things go wrong.

“In our efforts to be open and transparent, we work with our key partners including MPs, MSs, councillors, swimming groups and other local organisations.

“This work, which is led by our staff who live and work in the community, ensures constant, constructive dialogue between ourselves and our customers,” he added.