Local water firms slammed for water wastage

If it wasn’t enough for MyWelshpool to be targeting our local water provider for their extortionate bill increases this year, one local political party also has Hafren Dyfrdwy firmly in their sights with a scathing attack today.

The Welsh Lib Dems have slammed both Dwr Cymru and Hafren Dyfrdwy after claiming that stats reveal an average of 251 million litres of water wasted every day due to leaky pipes.

Astonishingly, an average of 3 billion litres of water is wasted every day in England and Wales (between 2020/21-2022/23) due to leaky pipes, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

This is the equivalent of 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water, the party claims, being lost every day due to leakages in England and Wales.

The party pointed out that Hafren Dyfrdwy, which serves Montgomeryshire, Wrexham and parts of Radnorshire, has the second-highest amount of leaks per property served with 154 litres leaked per property, with 16.4 million litres lost every year.

The Liberal Democrats have calculated that these water leaks are costing customers in England and Wales approximately £396 million per year in total.

Hafren Dyfrdwy water bills are expected to increase significantly in 2025 with the average bill for the year expected to be £590, a 32% increase compared to the 2024/25 bill of £447, but many people, including our team members, have been handed a 50% increase.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to abolish Ofwat in favour of a new regulator with real power to hold water companies accountable, protecting customers and the environment.

The party has also called on the government to implement a single social water tariff to protect the most vulnerable customers from excessive bill increases, and for bonuses to water bosses of these failing companies to be banned.

Welsh Lib Dem Senedd Candidate for Gwynedd Maldwyn (Gwynedd & Montgomeryshire) & Llanidloes County Councillor, Glyn Preston, said: “Communities across Gwynedd and Montgomeryshire are being let down by a system that rewards failure and punishes ordinary people. When water companies like Hafren Dyfrdwy waste millions of litres every day, it’s not just an environmental disaster – it’s a betrayal of the public’s trust.

“We need urgent action to fix our broken water system, protect our environment, and ensure no one is forced to pay through the nose for such poor service. It’s time for real accountability and real reform.”

Hafren Dyfrdwy have told us during our campaign to have our bills reduced to acceptable levels that the increases are needed to address their ailing infrastructure which will cost approximately £260m to fix up until 2030.