Welsh MP accuses NRW of having ‘lost control’ over pollution incident

Nation.Cymru Staff

A Welsh MP has accused the country’s environmental regulator of having “lost control” as he demands answers over a suspected pollution incident that turned a stream red.

Henry Tufnell, Member of Parliament for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, took to social media to provide an update on the suspected pollution at Withybush Woods, where a stream was seen running red earlier this month.

Images of the ‘blood red’ water were first shared in the Facebook group ‘Friends of the Cleddau’ on 3 September.

Locals described their shock at the “totally unacceptable and disgusting” incident, although some also said this was not the first time the tributary had been reported for pollution.

The Cleddau Project, a group of volunteers with a shared concern for the river, has previously raised concerns about what it describes as decades of pollution in the catchment from sewage, agriculture, industry, landfill and other sources.

Some locals suggested the nearby Euro Farm Wales abattoir could be the source of the latest incident, which the company has denied.

Natural Resources Wales have not yet confirmed the source, but did clarify that an environment officer had attended the site on both 4 and 5 September, “by which time the stream was running clear.”

NRW added that it would “take any appropriate enforcement action necessary in line with our enforcement policy”.

Anna Gardner, who shared images of the stream, contacted Henry Tufnell MP, who then raised the incident with NRW.

In a letter to the regulator, he said: “I am writing following the recent suspected pollution incident at Withybush Woods. As you will be aware, a number of my constituents reported a reddish discolouration in the stream that passes through the woods on 3 September.

“Local residents were understandably concerned to see the waterway so heavily discoloured and are still awaiting further clarification regarding the cause of the incident.

“I appreciate that the officers from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have already attended the site and I was pleased to hear that the stream is now running clear.

“I would be grateful if you could provide clarification as to the cause of the discolouration and offer reassurance that the appropriate regulatory action will be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”

However, on 11 September, Tufnell stated that NRW had not responded to his initial message or his two further attempts to contact them.

He shared what he described as a “shocking update on the pollution event in Withybush Woods”, saying: “Many of you have gotten in touch with me to say that you’ve seen this pollution event happen many times and it’s going back several years.

“Worst of all, you’ve reported it to NRW, but you’ve heard nothing back. And now this is happening to me.

“I’ve written to them three times this week about this specific pollution event, and I’ve learned nothing. They don’t know what’s going on. They’ve lost control.

“I’m putting in an FOI request to find out exactly what’s going on in the stream in Withybush Woods. I’m going to keep you updated, but please get in touch with me on my email address to let me know about other instances you’ve seen or this incident in particular, because we’ve got to get on top of pollution events in the Cleddau.”

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales said: “We understand that local residents are concerned following the recent incident at Withybush Woods, and we want to reassure the community that we are treating this matter seriously.

“We received a report of potential pollution on Thursday 4 September after a stream in Withybush Woods was observed turning red.

“An environment officer attended the site promptly. By the time of the inspection, the stream was running clear and there was no evidence of any odour or fish kill.

“Since then, we have undertaken dye-tracing investigations within the Withybush estate area, which drains into the Withybush Stream and subsequently Cartlett Brook, to help identify any potential source of the pollution.

“Our investigation remains ongoing and we are carrying out thorough enquiries to establish what happened. We will consider any appropriate regulatory action once enquiries are complete.

“We appreciate the concerns raised by local residents and would encourage anyone who witnesses or suspects a pollution incident to report it to NRW immediately via our 24-hour incident hotline on 0300 065 3000 or via our online report it form.”

Contact Henry Tufnell MP via email on [email protected]. If you would like to support Friends of The Cleddau Project’s aims, visit their site here.

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