River Dee faces split oversight despite Wales watchdog plans
The Welsh Dee Trust has warned that the Cunliffe Review’s proposals for water regulation reform fail to adequately address the complex management needs of cross-border rivers like the Dee.
The Trust, a local environmental organisation dedicated to improving the health of the River Dee through collaborative, catchment-wide conservation and pollution reduction, said the report’s limited focus on cross-border issues risks fragmented and ineffective river management.
The Dee begins in Wales with reservoirs managing water supply before flowing into England, where the water is abstracted to supply cities including Liverpool, far outside the river’s catchment.
The Trust said: “Two separate regional authorities could end up responsible for different parts of the same river: one managing water storage and release, the other handling abstraction and supply. The potential for misalignment is obvious and stark.”
It added: “The Dee already suffers from ageing infrastructure and environmental degradation. It is a prime example of a system that urgently needs joined-up, catchment-based planning. And yet, the Cunliffe Review falls short.”
The report’s only mention of cross-border rivers is the recommendation that “It will be important to ensure that river basin planning and associated programmes are coherent and mutually reinforcing across the border, particularly where water bodies and infrastructure are shared.”
“Of the 88 recommendations in the report, none directly address the management of cross-border rivers,” the Trust said.
The Welsh Dee Trust said it will “continue to push for a truly integrated, catchment-based approach through our Catchment Based Approach programme. Our objective — a River Dee free of pollution and full of wildlife — simply cannot be achieved in isolation. But working in partnership is much easier when there’s a joined-up plan to work from.”
Sir Jon Cunliffe, chairing the Independent Water Commission, criticised the current regulator Ofwat as “no longer fit for purpose” in the report published yesterday. The Cunliffe Review makes 88 recommendations for overhauling water regulation in the UK.
Ofwat responded by acknowledging the report’s findings and pledging to work with governments to form a new regulatory framework in England and contribute to Welsh discussions.
The review recommends replacing Ofwat in Wales with a new independent regulator or transferring responsibility to Natural Resources Wales, alongside stronger environmental oversight.
Welsh Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies welcomed the review’s recognition of Wales’ unique water system and the call for a separate Welsh economic regulator.
The Welsh Government said it will work with the UK Government to ensure cross-border cooperation as reforms are developed
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