THE Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, was reportedly castigated by the chief executive of Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) for “daring [in his presidential address] to say sewage in a catchment known for factory-farm pollution,” the chief executive of River Action, James Wallace, told the Governing Body in a presentation, Restoring Welsh Waterways, on Thursday of last week.
A press release from the water company in response to the reporting of the address was a part of reporters’ news packages on the TV channels S4C and ITV Wales.
“Well, I say thanks in your leadership and visionary foresight and insistence on working together. It is strictly what we want,” Mr Wallace told the Archbishop, calling for facts and “historic truths” to be “used without blame” to realize a consensus that rivers in Wales were in peril.
“It is completely right to collect data and use it for the common good; to politely call out that Dwr Cymru spilled a million hours of untreated sewage on 115,000 occasions into Welsh rivers in 2023; to respect [Professor] Peter Hammond’s commentary that roughly 40 wastewater treatment plants within the Cardigan area are operating in breach of their permits, and that sewage is spilled into Cardigan Bay 200 days annually.
“These are facts, and, when used without blame, they will mobilise people across Wales to carry up their hands and heads and work together. Let’s not fight one another and deny these historic truths, but recognise that the issues our rivers face are systemic and sophisticated, with multiple causes, and resolving them is a responsibility of us all.”
There was no shortage of evidence to point the finger at polluters; but now was the time for communities, farmers, water company employees, shoppers, swimmers, employees, and voters to work together as one, he said. “We are nature — every thing we do is determined by healthy ecosystems, abundant water. Every household, school, business, farm, church requires clean rivers.”
Recent research had shown that 53 cows could emit as much pollution because the untreated sewage from a town of 10,800 people. But, he asked, “How can farmers be expected to have the investment and capability to sustainably manage manure after they make just 1p in £1 of farm profit, the remaining going to corporate intermediaries and retailers? Where many lose money for each litre of milk produced? Where they must borrow half of the cash for constructing slurry storage?
“The industrial intensification of agriculture, driven by multinational corporations, has come at the associated fee of farmers’ livelihoods, and, sadly, in lots of cases, their lives and the lives of our treasured wildlife.”
Mr Wallace spoke of the numerous other contributing aspects, including the five hundred tonnes of harmful metals leaking into rivers in Wales from abandoned mines every 12 months, and developers’ insistence on constructing on floodplains without adequate sewage treatment.
To the Church in Wales, he said: “You are in a singular position: you represent and serve rural and concrete communities across the country; you own land in every catchment; you’re impartial and truly independent. You have a mission to nurture God’s people and protect God’s earth, so who higher to drive forward this essential environmental programme of preparation for a difficult future?”
The associate director of the Bangor Wetlands Group on the University of Bangor, Dr Christian Dunn, said that rivers were being attacked by nitrates and phosphates, viruses from bacteria, and chemicals not routinely measured, similar to antibiotics and micro-plastics.
“The water industry is just not fit for purpose,” he told the meeting. “It is just not what society wants or the environment needs. We have to do higher.” Another problem was the development industry: “We have an excessive amount of concrete. When it rains, it hits concrete and goes straight into drainage systems which mix with the sewage system. We need a sustainable drainage system, and more soil into the infrastructure, similar to permeable paving.”
More than 75 per cent of wetland habitats — bogs, fens, and marshes — had been destroyed, Dr Dunn said. Wetlands were natural sponges, to take in water: “They should be reintroduced and created on nothing lower than a war footing.”
He described the November summit called by the Archbishop as crucial. “We have to just accept that there may be individual and social responsibility here. We have gotten up to now due to society failures over several many years. We need to come back together as a society in a neutral and open way for open debate. It could also be uncomfortable, but we must address it.”
Hannah Wilkinson (St Davids) said: “Our priority must be helping people to see they’ve moral responsibility. We are answerable to God at the top of the day.
“It is nice that the difficulty has turn out to be so necessary, and organisations are wanting to become involved. When politicians see the extent of anger and fervour, they’ll wish to do something about it.”
The Dean of Newport, the Very Revd Ian Black (Monmouth), reminded the meeting that the primary duty of presidency was the protection of the nation. He appealed to all politicians standing for election this 12 months to make this a part of their election campaign: ‘It is in regards to the welfare of all people,” he said.
Nicholas Cooke KC (Monmouth), as president of the provincial court in St Davids, said that he had a selected opportunity to do something because the Church was exempted from planning controls inside the curtilage system. He offered help with provincial guidance on solutions similar to permeable paving: “I need to flag up the urgency and the necessity to do something on this area.”
The Dean of St Davids, the Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland-Jones (St Davids), urged: “Look at how that is symptomatic of the larger problem of short-termism, driven by the necessity to win the subsequent election and deliver maximum profits to shareholders.”
Her father had been a water engineer for Montgomeryshire. “Even then, he was wringing his hands over the direction of travel,” she said. “It has been coming for a very long time, and is a component of something larger.” She emphasised the overriding importance of “getting those with good intentions into the controversy”.
Robert Charlton (Swansea & Brecon) offered practical suggestions to everyone with a garden: “Please encourage a natural garden — no pesticides, weedkiller, paving, and definitely no artificial grass.”
