High water levels in drainage ditches in the Dysynni Valley and the afon Dysynni have resulted in farm land being left worthless.

Assisting farmers in getting the problem solved as a matter of urgency is the Meirionnydd branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, who arranged an emergency site meeting with local MP Liz Saville Roberts.

The Dysynni Valley is one of several Internal Drainage Districts in Meirionnydd which are administered by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), where farmers pay a statutory drainage rate for their land.

The FUW has been involved in the drainage issues over many years, and Huw Jones, the FUW’s CEO in Meirionnydd, was at the forefront of highlighting that urgent action is required to deal with the weak flow in the ditches, the need to clear mature weed growth and vegetation, and for ditch beds to be cleared and dredged in many areas.

He said: “I realised that immediate action has to be taken on this. Many of our members have come to speak to me about their concerns here in the local county office and that’s why we have raised the issue with our local Member of Parliament.

“I am pleased to inform our members that a letter has now been sent from the office of Liz Saville Roberts to NRW asking them to address the problems our members are facing, including a comprehensive list of jobs that need to be carried out immediately.”

Mr Jones has previously visited the sites and added that the situation has resulted in standing water being seen in several fields, which means that productive farmland has now been left worthless.

“The issue affects most farmers within the valley and the FUW appreciates that the Dysynni has an unique man made drainage system, which has been described as a masterpiece of 19th century engineering. However, it is imperative that there is regular maintenance of the system,” added Mr Jones.

He added that the union understands that maintenance has started, but an assurance is needed that it will be carried out thoroughly.

“We made a request for a maintenance programme to be carried out twice a year, as has been the case in previous years.”

Keith Ivens, operations manager from Natural Resources Wales said: “The network of drainage ditches in the Dysynni Valley is engineered carefully to manage water levels in the area and protect nearby properties from flooding.

“The annual programme of maintenance is reviewed and agreed with the Dysynni Internal Drainage District (IDD) Advisory Group.

“The current level of funding available to the IDD only allows the maintenance work to be carried out once a year. Any additional work may mean that we have to carry out a review of funding to cover the increased maintenance costs."See this week's north editions for the full story, in shops and online on Thursday