THERE is a plan for a new location and a smaller site for a proposed water treatment works in Merthyr Tydfil as the previous plan is no longer being considered.
Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water has revealed revised plans for a new water treatment works and said that following a consultation with the local community the previous plan to develop a site at Gurnos Farm was no longer being considered.
The new proposals are for a smaller treatment works at Dan-y-Castell Farm, next to Pant Industrial Estate, and to upgrade the Llwyn-onn Treatment Works.
The plans have been revised in response to community feedback and to reduce environmental impact and cost, Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water has said.
It said that the investment was needed as three water treatment works in the area, Pontsticill, Cantref and Llwyn-onn, were ageing and nearing the end of their operational life.
A new legal duty has also been placed on Welsh Water by the Drinking Water Inspectorate requiring them to upgrade the treatment processes in the area by March, 2030.
The drinking water network in the Bannau Brychieniog National Park was constructed in the early 20th century and these water treatment works are becoming increasingly challenging and expensive to operate due to their age.
Without major investment, there is an increased risk that Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water will not be able to continue to meet high drinking water standards, and customers will be at risk of increased interruptions to drinking water supplies in the future.
The revised proposals have come following a two year review by the company to develop an alternative solution to the original proposal it consulted on with the local community in 2022.
Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water said it had taken additional time to conduct further surveys, take on board the community’s feedback, and consider the options to provide a sustainable upgrade to supply safe, clean drinking water to customers well into the future.
In 2022, it consulted on early plans to replace the three works by building a single new water treatment works on Gurnos Farm, near Pontsarn.
The proposals now involve proposing to construct a smaller water treatment works in the Merthyr Tydfil area, on Dan-y-Castell Farm (adjacent to the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road, in Merthyr Tydfil), to replace the existing water treatment works at Pontsticill, whilst upgrading the existing Llwyn-onn Water Treatment Works.
Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water said the proposals now offered a new split-site approach, which removed the need to build a single-site works on Gurnos Farm, as well as removing the need to lay new pipework around Gurnos, Cyfarthfa Park and Georgetown, addressing the community’s feedback that it wasn’t an appropriate site for the development of a water treatment works and would impact on the local heritage.
Ian Christie, managing director of water, asset planning and capital delivery at Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water said: “We greatly appreciated the feedback that we received following our 2022 consultation and would like to thank the community for their patience as we carried out our review.
“We have listened and challenged ourselves to develop a new solution which we believe will provide an innovative solution to our ageing water treatment works as well as making sure our assets and network are resilient to the effects of climate change and future population growth.
“It has not been an easy challenge as an investment of this size and importance requires careful planning, which is why we have taken the additional time to balance the many considerations and be as informed as possible.
“We’re now pleased to be sharing the progress we have made and gain the views from the local community which will help us shape our proposals further before they are finalised.
“We have to build a new treatment works in the area and believe that these plans now provide the right balance between our operational needs to provide a safe, reliable supply of drinking water to our customers in the area at an affordable price, together with local community and environmental concerns raised during our initial consultation. We will make a formal planning application in due course.”
