Families, wildlife and rural communities across Wales will benefit from cleaner rivers following a Water Summit chaired by Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, which confirmed progress on water quality improvement. 

The Summit, held at Hensol Castle on 22 January, brought together government, regulators, industry, environmental organisations and farming unions to drive forward a collective approach to restoring Wales's waterbodies.

Speaking at the Summit, which focused on agriculture, the Deputy First Minister said: “The challenges we face are complex, interconnected and longstanding. But the work underway across government, regulators, industry, NGOs and farming unions gives me confidence that we are moving with purpose and in partnership." 

The Welsh Government is making changes to agricultural pollution rules following an independent review.

Natural Resources Wales reported that collaborative work with farms has increased compliance rates from 37 per cent to 47 per cent.  

Enforcement funding has been increased to £1.58 million for 2025-26, within a total commitment of £4.13 million. 

Farmers want to invest in more sustainable systems. Nutrient management and slurry storage improvements are key to enabling farms to apply nutrients when they are required by the crop and avoid causing pollution.

A strong demand for nutrient management support continues and the Welsh Government has already committed £69m towards nutrient management and slurry storage improvements - with more than 540 expressions of interest in the latest window. 

Two new schemes to assist the agriculture sector with water quality emerged from discussions.

The Integrated Natural Resources Scheme (INRS) will open a new application window later this year, specifically targeting interventions that enhance and improve water quality.

In addition – and following consideration from the Control of Agricultural Pollutions Regulations (CoAP) Task and Finish Group – the potential of farm-level pilot projects to support the implementation of recommendations from the CoAP Regulations review was explored at the Summit.