Issues around flood management in Montgomeryshire have been raised in the Welsh Senedd.

Montgomeryshire Senedd Member Russell George raised the impact of flooding incidents in mid Wales and the management of Clywedog and Vyrnwy reservoirs with the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford MS – after a week of disruption caused by high water levels.

Powys escaped serious flooding over the course of the week despite heavy rain, but river levels remain high and Natural Resources Wales highlighted flooding concerns for rivers in the north of the county amid Met Office yellow weather warnings.

Powys has experienced several flooding incidents in recent years, including that which occurred last February in which Llandinam residents were evacuated from their homes.

Mr George asked the First Minister for an update on the work that the Welsh Government and National Resources Wales are involved with enhancing the Clywedog dam to provide greater resilience.

The First Minister responded to Mr George and said they will be changing their arrangement of releasing water from the dams.

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“The point the member makes about the Vyrnwy and the Clywedog reservoirs is a really important one, because some people's concern, further downstream, is that water released from the reservoirs adds to the risk of flooding, particularly at points of high rainfall,” said Mr Drakeford.

“The Environment Agency is responsible for managing the releases and the water levels in those reservoirs, and it has been releasing water out of both reservoirs at the start of this year.

“Now, we have an assurance that they will be stepping back from that in the light of the weather forecast this week. But officials of the Welsh Government do remain in regular discussions with the Environment Agency about the operating arrangements it has for both reservoirs, and I'm very happy to make sure that the points made by the Member this afternoon are taken up further in those discussions.”

Afterwards, Mr George said: “I was pleased that the Welsh Government are working with National Resources Wales and in contact with The Environment Agency regarding the water level, but for over a decade I’ve been raising these concerns, and I believe government and environmental bodies need to prioritise examining the operating rules of the Clywedog and Vyrnwy dams.”

‘’Many people are rightly anxious and fearful that their homes and land may be flooded when rivers are overflowing, and flood warnings are in place

“I also asked the First Minister to provide compensation for landowners who are affected by flooding.”