Completed petition To act to increase the effectiveness of Natural Resources Wales in halting pollution on the Teifi.
The river Teifi is dying due to levels of pollution.
We call on the Senedd to increase the funding to Natural Resources Wales to enable it to fulfil its obligations in relation to the monitoring of the health of the river and the enforcement of legal requirements.
We also call upon the Senedd to ensure that Natural Resources Wales is held to account for its performance. This would help to safeguard the Teifi for future generations as proposed in The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015.
More details
Levels of pollution on the Teifi are high. Numbers of salmon, otter and other aquatic life are in serious decline.
The Teifi is a Special Area of Conservation that is under threat from pollution and climate change. Data provided by Natural Resources Wales indicate that its poor water quality means 78% of the water bodies in the catchment are classified as poor or moderate under the Water Framework Assessment.
Similarly, large sections of the river are failing phosphate target levels and a study by Natural Resources Wales indicates the Salmon and Lamprey populations are at risk of extinction in the next 15 years.
Climate change has resulted in low water levels in spring and higher water temperatures which have enhanced the growth of algal blooms and depleted oxygen levels in the water.
In 2022 the river experienced 1,889 sewage spills from combined sewage outfalls which lasted 14,079 hours, the 6th worst river in England and Wales for sewage spill duration.
This petition was considered by the Petitions Committee
Find out about the Petitions Committee’s discussion of this petition