Welsh Water agrees to take action to improve sewerage problem in Snowdonia village

The sewerage problem of one village in Snowdonia needs attention following persistent objections from local residents and councillors, a politician has said.

Capel Curig’s sewerage problem, where raw sewage flows through the village’s main street during heavy showers, was raised with Welsh Water following a meeting between Llyr Gruffydd, the Senedd Member for North Wales, and local councillors, including Councillor Liz Roberts last year.

Following discussions over recent months, Welsh Water has agreed to make improvements to the sewerage system to try and improve the situation.

Plaid Cymru’s North Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd said: “This has been a situation that has worsened over many years and I am delighted that Welsh Water has now recognised the need to take action in this particular case.

“There are specific local problems affecting the sewerage system and, having met with experts for clarification, the improvements do not seem to solve every problem.

“But it is a big step forward and residents feel that someone has have finally listened to their complaints after 20 years.”

Councillor Liz Roberts, who represents the village on Conwy Council, said: “The problem has been affecting Capel Curig since at least 2004.

“Having raised the matter with Llyr Gruffydd, it was nice to be able to meet Welsh Water so that they can fully understand the problem and come up with a solution.

“Local residents and the community council have been waiting for many years for this and it will be a great boost to everyone to understand that there is a solution on the way.”

According to a Welsh Water spokesperson, the village’s geology and sewerage network mean that all water from the surrounding mountains flows into the treatment works at the end of the village.

They said: “Through our investigations, we have found that the flow within the catchment stays high for an extended period following storm events, which suggests that water flows into the network of land drains and ditches.

“This type of flow is supposed to come into our network and one of the implications of having a combined sewer network is to reduce the network capacity, especially in wetter weather.”

He added that more detailed investigations had taken place after Llyr Gruffydd MS raised the matter: “Our team carried out a full site inspection in November 2021 and identified points where there is a higher flow of clear water to the network, which suggests a land drainage connection.

“Four inflow points were identified and a detailed survey of inflows carried out and, as a result, we have developed solutions to extract this water from the combined network.

“The next step is to finalise a detailed design for these solutions, including working with the highway authority to explore the possibility of using existing pieces of pipework to discharge into the River Llugwy.

“Keeping any unauthorised water out of the system will significantly reduce the frequency and severity of any potential future events.

“The plan includes the installation of an additional new flow monitoring tool at the treatment works to measure the reduction.

“We will also retrieve the telemetry monitoring alarm at the manhole to alert overflow incidents to local teams so that crews can be sent out to carry out any clean-up work.

“We anticipate that this work will be completed before the summer of 2024, but we will be able to offer a more definitive date when detailed design work and stakeholder discussions have been completed.

“In the meantime, we will be working with the community and local businesses to raise awareness about what can be disposed of through toilets and sinks and what should be dumped to prevent system bottlenecks and pollution incidents.

“This will be achieved as part of our Stop Before the Block campaign. This should help reduce the more visible element of flooding and the need to clear up the damage that they cause.”