A housing development for 270 houses the size of 20 football pitches between Dixton Road and the Hereford Road in Monmouth could have a detrimental effect on Monmouth’s drinking water.  

Nearby homeowners are concerned that pollution from the housing site could drain into the River Wye and urge Monmouth residents to write to Monmouthshire County Councillors to help safeguard Monmouth’s drinking water and remove the Dixton Road site (CS0270) from the Deposit Plan before a key vote on the Replacement Local Development Plan.

A map published by the Welsh Government shows that the eastern side of Monmouth and Wyesham are in areas failing compliance against Phosphorus Targets.

Any surface water and pollution that runs off the Dixton Road site will possibly flow into the brook network near Dixton Church and then into the River Wye.  This is around 400 metres upstream from where Welsh Water extracts Monmouth’s drinking water.

Monmouth has above average rainfall with heavy clay soils and this makes the town vulnerable to both flooding and rainwater pollution.  Runoff pollution could add to the already failing phosphate levels in the River Wye in Monmouth.

Sources of domestic phosphate pollutants include weedkillers, cleaning products, cat and dog poo, road salt and decomposition from compost heaps and fallen leaves that could be produced from the site on the western side of the A40 that is being considered for housing.