July 2026 marks four years since the Welsh Government convened the first River Pollution Summit at the Royal Welsh Show to address the impact of pollution on some of Wales’ most precious rivers.

In the years that have followed, progress has been real but modest. More river water bodies are now meeting phosphorus targets; Nutrient Management Boards and catchment action plans have been established across affected catchments; significant public investment has been directed towards farm infrastructure and nutrient management improvements; and the Water Reform Green Paper has set out an ambitious long-term vision for a more integrated approach to water management.

Despite these positive developments, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales Derek Walker warns that the scale and pace of change still fall short of what is needed:

“Four years on, we must face the sobering reality that our rivers remain in a perilous ecological state. Urgently needed housing remains stalled, and land managers often feel disenfranchised from the debate”.

Through listening and engagement with stakeholders across Wales, the commissioner’s office has gathered evidence and practical insights on river and water quality challenges. This work has informed a set of recommendations aimed at providing a more strategic, long-term and integrated response.

Calls to Welsh Government

The commissioner is calling on Welsh Government to:

1. Legislate for the long term by establishing a statutory, multi-decade National Water Strategy, building directly on the foundations laid by the Water Reform Green Paper.
2. Integrate water policy with land-use planning, ensuring the forthcoming review of Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 and the emerging National Development Plan fully embed water resilience and catchment restoration objectives.
3. Strengthen collaboration by formalising and adequately resourcing Catchment Management Partnerships, evolving and expanding the role currently undertaken by Nutrient Management Boards to address multiple environmental, social and economic needs at a catchment scale.
4. Prevent further deterioration by making the comprehensive ecological restoration of river catchments the overarching statutory objective of Welsh water policy, requiring all related actions and investment decisions to demonstrate a clear contribution towards this goal. Access to practical advice to farmers and land managers is an important part of this.
5. Expand monitoring through involvement by creating a distributed governance framework that integrates data collected by regulators, communities, citizen scientists, environmental organisations, academia and industry into a single open-access platform. Decision-makers should be empowered to use this evidence to prioritise action and investment where it can deliver the greatest benefit.

Water Quality and Climate Resilience: The Same Challenge

The commissioner emphasises that the solutions required to improve water quality are fundamentally the same as those needed to build Wales’ resilience to climate change.

Implementing nature-based solutions, expanding catchment-scale Natural Flood Management, and empowering and rewarding farmers to act as primary stewards of the landscape can simultaneously improve water quality, reduce flood risk, strengthen drought resilience, and support thriving rural communities.

“These interconnected challenges can no longer be treated as separate policy agendas. We need integrated action that reflects the scale and urgency of these challenges.”,  Mr Walker says.

A Commitment to Future Generations

The Commissioner is seeking reassurance that Welsh Government’s commitment to action matches the urgency expressed by communities across Wales and by young people involved in grassroots initiatives such as the Usk Youth Leadership Group.

“Many of us are working arduously to try and improve our rivers. Right now, this feels like an uphill battle. I humbly ask you to do all that you can to make decisions that restore our rivers to better health and to give more support those already doing this work. This is what I and many of my peers want to see: real action for the rivers that sustain our lives; action that empowers us to lead.” says, Gwion Thomas, Crai resident – Usk Youth Leadership Group

Read our letter to Llŷr Gruffydd MS, Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability