Welsh Water defends record over Powys sewage blackspots

The company made the comments after an article in the County Times highlighted two of Powys’s sewage blackspots in Beulah and Llanbrynmair – both run by the company.  

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility for operating storm overflows seriously and are fully transparent with how often they operate by publishing this information on our website for anyone to view. 

"Their performance is also closely monitored by our regulator, Natural Resources Wales.

READ MORE: Powys sewage hotspots a concern for local residents

“We did meet with some customers in Beulah just before lockdown after some reports of issues with the wastewater system there.  We investigated the network and found it to be operating normally. 

"We have only received two reports since our meeting and would advise anyone there who experiences an issue with their wastewater system to contact us immediately so we can investigate further”. 

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However, county councillor for Beulah, Peter James, has previously said that the sewage drain problem was brought to his attention last year but was told by residents that back up from the sewer had been a problem “for very many years”.

The company has confirmed that it will be reaching out to local councillors to discuss the ways in which they can improve the drainage issues and reduce the amount of sewage leaking into the waterways.

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A spokesperson for Welsh Water also tried to reassure residents about the situation and said they were investing in storm overflows to reduce leaks into the water.

They said: “Almost 95 per cent of what is released from storm overflows is rainwater because its during heavy rain they are designed to operate.  They operate in this way to protect homes and businesses from experiencing internal wastewater flooding during heavy rain. 

“We realise however that that there is a lot of interest in how often they operate and that more needs to be done to improve their performance. 

“That is why we are investing £25 million between now and 2025 to further improve the performance of storm overflows and a further £800 million between 2025 – 2030.”