A Monmouth resident was shocked to discover that Monmouth’s water supply has been under notice from the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) since October last year.

Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water)was issued a notice by the DWI in 2023 pointing out significant risks associated with the Monmouth treatment works and its potential impact on public health.

The notice issued specifies several strategic actions with set deadlines to identify and confirm solutions to mitigate pollution, pesticides, and taste and odour risks at Monmouth and Court Farm Treatment Works (Ponthir) by March 2025 and complete planning, design, and construction of solutions by March 2028 for Monmouth.

The notice requires Dwr Cymru monitor and regularly review trends in consumer contacts in the Monmouth / Trellech water supply zone and investigate any issues regarding taste and odour in those supply zones.

The drinking water supply for the town is sourced upstream of the Wye. The water comes out of the Wye near to Natural Resources Wales (the environment agency) in Hadnock Road and is pumped down to the Welsh Water Mayhill Treatment works . It is then pumped up to the reservoir on the Kymin and then across the Wye Bridge into Monmouth. 

Dwr Cymru themselves identified risks in reports dated July 29, 2022, and March 23, 2023 indicating that the water supply from these works could pose dangers to human health due to potential contamination from taste, odour, pesticides, and pollution.

Residents are also concerned about additional pollution from a “candidate site” to build 270 houses at the top of Dixton Road.  The storm water and any garden runoff from these houses would flow into the River Wye close to Dixton Church, just 400 metres upstream from where Dwr Cymru extract the drinking water.

This news comes just weeks after Welsh Water were fined £104K for polluting the River Wye  from the Kingstone and Madley Sewage Treatment Works in Herefordshire.

The Environment Agency prosecuted the utility for breaching the conditions of an environmental permit between August 2020 and June 2021.

Welsh Water Ltd entered a guilty plea at Worcester Crown Court and were fined £90,000 for exceeding permitted levels of sewage effluent into the River Wye