Why is it that the agencies responsible for providing us with clear water and a better environment in Wales are so inept at their job?

We live in a nation blessed with natural beauty, mountains, clear lakes, rivers and miles of beaches. But between Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales, we end up with sewage on our beaches and rivers, countless tens of thousands of gallons of clean water wasted in leaks, protested species and UN-recognised biospheres unprotected, and our countryside open to fly-tippers.

What the heck is wrong with the people who head these agencies? Are they more interested in protecting their jobs and paycheques rather than looking after our natural environment? It's a disgrace. A national disgrace for Wales.

Recently, Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water was fined £1.35 million and ordered to pay over £70,000 in costs after pleading guilty to over 800 breaches of its environmental permits to discharge sewage. That's untreated or partially treated human faecal matter that ended up on our beaches and rivers - the very same rivers and beaches to which hundreds of thousands of visitors come each year.

It is nothing less than economic sabotage.

And last week, a Senedd Committee says that it is ‘gravely concerned’ at Natural Resources Wales’ plan to reduce the number of low category pollution incidents it responds to.

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s annual scrutiny of the environmental watchdog highlights several concerning aspects of how it plans to keep an eye on things like fly-tipping, illegal chemical dumping and water pollution.

NRW’s new plan is to focus on larger incidents and to adopt a “higher tolerance of risk” in how they manage reports of pollution in Wales.

The thinking at NRW is that is the reporting standards are lower, they can simply ignore the many wrongs. That doesn't make it right. It again undercuts of tourism business.

The committee was also critical of the closure by NRW of its three visitor centres at Coed y Brenin, Bwlch Nant yr Arian and Ynyslas in March.

Simply put, NRW's actions are shameful and fly in the face of their mandate. It's a disgrace. A national disgrace.