River Dee at risk as Wales faces repeated drought conditions
The River Dee has been highlighted in a new warning from a Welsh rivers charity that drought planning must start now if wildlife and communities are to be protected in future years.
In her September blog, Afonydd Cymru CEO Gail Davies-Walsh said 2025 had exposed weaknesses in the way water is managed, with much of Wales declared in “environmental drought” this summer due to low rainfall and low river flows.
She warned that Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has few powers to limit the amount of water taken from rivers during drought conditions, leaving important habitats such as the Dee at risk.
“Actions taken during a drought are all too late,” she wrote. “NRW must be given more powers to act, not just during times of drought but in preparation of them, and the regulator must use those powers.”
The River Dee is one of several catchments where Afonydd Cymru and local rivers trusts have called for extra water to be released from reservoirs to support fish and ecology during dry spells. The Dee is a key drinking water source for north east Wales and north west England, as well as being one of Wales’s principal salmon rivers.
Concerns have been raised over declining salmon populations, with Afonydd Cymru warning that all 22 of Wales’s principal salmon rivers are now at risk of extinction.
The charity also raised concerns about “abstraction” — the process of taking water from rivers, lakes or underground sources for public supply, farming or industry. While large water companies must operate under strict permits, some smaller abstractions are not registered, meaning the total amount of water being removed from rivers is not fully known.
“There is a large, unquantified element of unpermitted abstraction – water which can legally be taken from rivers with no registration, no controls and, therefore, no restrictions,” Davies-Walsh said. “Some of this abstraction is undertaken at times when our river flows are at their most vulnerable.”
The blog also raised concerns that proposed new data centres in Wales could place further pressure on water supplies in future.
Afonydd Cymru has urged Welsh Government to require all abstractions to be permitted, to develop a national water resources plan, and to expand nature-based solutions such as water storage and land management to support rivers like the Dee.
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