Natural Resources Wales’s summary of Welsh Water’s environmental performance in 2024.
It is extremely disappointing that Dŵr Cymru continues to hold red status for serious pollution incidents. The rising number of sewerage pollution incidents is also concerning, with 2024 marking the worst performance to date.
Natural Resources Wales
Thursday 23rd October, 2025
After a three-month delay, Natural Resources Wales have today published the environmental performance report for Wales’s water companies in 2024.
Hafren Dyfrdwy’s performance remained good overall but for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, by far the larger of Wales’s two water companies, the assessment once again made for painful reading, as it did for rivers across the country.
On the positive side, the number of major pollution incidents dropped from 7 in 2023 to 6 in 2024, the self-reporting of incidents improved by 4% and compliance of treatment works against permits improved by 0.7%.
However, together with an increase in total pollution incidents, these improvements were nowhere near enough to enable Welsh Water to meet its expected performance and Natural Resources Wales awarded it 2-star status for the third year in a row.
Perhaps one crumb of comfort for Welsh Water is that things appear even worse in England where the Environment Agency awarded the lowest number of stars in its 2024 assessment of water companies there. And Welsh Water would actually be a mid-table team if compared to some seriously dismal performances on that side of the border.
However, the fact remains that the number of water company-related pollution incidents, both serious and in total, remains a significant concern for rivers in Wales.
What can be done to change this situation?
The latest results are embarrassing for the Cardiff and Westminster Governments who have vowed to force improvement in water company performance yet are witnessing little progress and, in many cases, things going the wrong way.
Westminster have put their faith in restructuring the regulation of the water industry following the Cunliffe Review and in its Special Measures Bill.
But for Wales it is becoming clear that greater devolved powers are needed to empower Welsh Government to deliver the necessary changes in regulation. The new independent regulatory body to replace Ofwat in Wales needs to understand and challenge investment to support an ailing water system that is in desperate need of more maintenance.
Meanwhile, Welsh Government also needs to resolve the sentencing and enforcement principles to ensure funds from fines and penalties are reinvested in restoration in Wales and that they act as a disincentive to pollute. The reduction by the courts of a fine given to Welsh Water for failing to monitor water quality correctly from £1.35m to £120,000 is hardly that.
In the Senedd this week the Deputy First Minister said that changes in the regulation of the water industry could take several years to be implemented and to get right.
This latest assessment of the environmental performance of Wales’s largest water company shows that changes are needed quickly. Welsh rivers cannot afford further delay.