Long standing discoloured water problems at Trecwn village – Pembrokeshire
Intractable water quality issues
The private water supply main from its source to Trecwn village and the connections from it, were transferred on sale to those that bought the properties as set out in their title deeds. This meant that householders were liable for any improvement to the private water supply infrastructure. The private supply is that of chlorinated surface water, piped to consumers from a private reservoir via a Victorian era cast iron main. Many householders consider the water quality from this supply to be persistently unacceptable, and they want a permanent solution to improve it.
The preferred solution chosen was to connect consumers of the existing supply to the Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) licensed mains supply; the DCWW network is 1.5 km away from the village. However, this would result in a substantial one-off cost for householders due to the cost of the replacement of the cast iron pipe, coupled with the cost of a new connection to the existing DCWW network. Indeed, the initial price quoted for this was in excess of £1 million. This was a significant financial burden for the householders to meet, and beyond the budgetary means for the local authority to perform the works in default and subsequently place a charge on the houses. So, an unsatisfactory situation with no realistic practicable solution.
Eventually, the solution chosen was to use a “self-lay” contractor to lay the main and connections, from the DCWW network to the houses The local authority played a key facilitating role in overseeing and encouraging a positive outcome.
Solution adopted
On 20 March 2024; the households, Pembrokeshire County Council, DCWW, and an appointed supervising contractors firm met and agreed the transfer of houses affected to a DCWW supply, complete with new supply pipes to the kitchen taps from the new main.
This outcome did significantly reduce the cost of connection to householders. This project is to be managed by a competent consultancy firm recommended by the local authority.
The costs will be met from the local authorities’ allocation of the UK government Shared Prosperity Fund administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.