New report reveals ‘toxic chemical cocktail’ blighting Wales’ national parks

Emily Price 

Wales’ national parks are being blighted by hundreds of thousands of hours of sewage spills, agricultural run-off, and a toxic chemical cocktail from sewer overflows, according to a new report.

The paper, published by the independent charity – Campaign for National Parks – revealed shocking levels of sewage dumping in Welsh beauty spots with almost half of rivers in Wales’ national parks failing to meet good ecological status.

Eryri National Park in north Wales was among the worst affected – with over 47,000 hours of sewage spills recorded.

It comes after new research revealed that Eryri is the UK’s most littered tourist attraction.

In August, mountaineers scaled Wales’ highest peak, Yr Wyddfa, which is found in Eryri National Park, to carry out a mammoth litter pick.

Discharges

The Campaign for National Parks report also highlighted that the Pembrokeshire Coast has suffered significantly, with 38 sewage overflows resulting in nearly 16,000 hours of discharges in 2024 alone.

The charity found that 53.8% of river water bodies wholly or partly in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park are classed as moderate to bad.

This decline in quality reflects more than 22,000 hours of sewage dumped into the park’s waters in 2023.

Environmental experts warn that sewage dumping not only devastates water quality but also destroys habitats and increases flood risks – compounding the damage to fragile ecosystems.

Condemned 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have condemned the shocking findings of the report.

MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick MP said: “The statistics presented by the Campaign for National Parks are undeniably shocking.

“It is appalling that more than 254,000 hours of sewage were spilt into National Park rivers across the UK, with 85,000 hours of that here in Wales.

“Even worse, a large proportion of this disgraceful pollution happened in Bannau Brycheiniog, in our own constituency.

“This cannot continue. We need urgent, stricter regulations on sewage dumping, and water companies must be held fully accountable for the environmental destruction they are causing.

“Both the Welsh Labour Government and the UK Labour Government have utterly failed to act.

“Instead of standing up to polluting water companies, they are standing by while our rivers, our communities, and our natural heritage are poisoned.

“The Liberal Democrats will keep fighting to end this scandal and to protect Wales’ precious national parks for future generations.”

‘Direct threat’

Adding his comments, Welsh Lib Dem Senedd Member for Mid & West Wales Jane Dodds said: “Here in the Beacons, sewage dumping isn’t just an environmental disgrace; it’s a direct threat to our way of life.

“Our rivers, streams and lakes are the backbone of the local tourism industry, which so many families and businesses rely on. Visitors come here for clean waters and thriving wildlife, but sewage pollution puts all of that at risk.

“The wildlife that makes this area so special is suffering because of reckless dumping and weak regulation.”

Natural Resources Wales says it is working with the water and agricultural sectors to drive improvements in Welsh rivers – but there is still “much more to be done”.

Rhian Thomas, Sustainable Water and Nature Manager from Natural Resources Wales said: “Our national parks play a significant role in Wales’s environment and are important to both nature and people.

“They are home to some of our most precious Special Area of Conservation (SAC) rivers, as well as rare habitats and protected landscapes.

“We continue to work with the water and agricultural sectors, as well as other partners, to drive improvements in our rivers. While it will take time to see the significant change we all want, there are already some encouraging signs of improvement in our most recent data.

“We know there is much more to be done, and we do not underestimate the challenge. We’ve significantly stepped up our compliance efforts, aiming to visit 800 farms this year under the Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations, and introducing a new compliance team for water company discharges.

“We have pushed hard for an ambitious investment programme from water companies which will see record levels of action to benefit nature and people, tackling spills which are causing the most harm to our environment.”

Rainfall

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water pointed out that The Campaign for National Parks water report noted that rivers in Welsh national parks are in a better ecological status than those in England.

A spokesperson said: “The Campaign for National Parks Water Report notes that rivers in Welsh national parks are in a better ecological status than those in England.

“As a country on the western side of the UK, we have some of the highest levels of rainfall and are seeing an increase in severe events linked to climate change.

“Wales also has some of the oldest housing stock in the UK meaning there is more ‘combined’ sewers than in other areas, so all roof and home drainage goes into what is usually a small sewer network with a small storm overflow pipe.

“Storm overflows are essential to ensure networks do not become overwhelmed and flood properties. The total removal of storm overflows is unaffordable and would take decades, so we are targeting this investment on those having the greatest environmental impact.

“We are determined to play our part to improve river and bathing water quality and over the next five years we’ll invest £2.5bn on projects to improve the environment, including £889m on improving storm overflows.

“River pollution and marine water quality is not just an issue for water companies.  We need to work together with other sectors who impact water quality to ensure improvement.”