CONCERNS ABOUT POLLUTION are affecting the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.
Closure
The closure of a supply with concerns about pollution have forced the closure of a culvert in Risca, Janet Friend reports.
It is believed that this supply to the canal is polluted, and so has been stopped, with Welsh Water confirming a culvert had been blocked off as mitigation against a pollution event, with misconnections, where waste pipes on properties have erroneously been connected to a drainage-only network.
This is is addition to the legal changes that can prevent water extraction under certain circumstances from the Usk to feed the Mon & Brec, even though it flows back into the river lower down.
No long term solution
Utilities firm Welsh Water has agreed to supply extra water to the Mon & Brec during the current financial year but there is no long term solution.
But a high cost has been demanded to keep the water supply to the canal from the Usk.