Investing in the Ceiriog Valley
We are investing £10 million in our wastewater infrastructure in the Ceiriog Valley to help protect the environment of this beautiful valley.
Over the next few years we will be investing in a number of villages within the valley including Pontfadog, Dolywern and Glyn Ceiriog.
One of the main things we do at Welsh Water is aim to provide customers with a first-class wastewater service which will take away the wastewater you flush away or wash down the sink whilst also protecting the local environment.
As a company, we depend on the environment for the water and wastewater services we provide. We take our responsibility to protecting the environment seriously this is why we will be investing £2.5billion on projects to improve the environment between 2025 and 2030.
As the rules and regulations for the standard of how wastewater is treated before it’s returned to the environment gets stricter, we need to ensure treatment works cleans the water better to help protect the local waterways. As the limits for the sites are set tighter, we need to carry out improvements and upgrades in a number of our wastewater treatment works so that the treated water coming out of the sites is cleaner.
Our work in ...
Our wastewater treatment works at Pontfadog is a small site which treats wastewater from properties in the village before discharging into the River Ceiriog. Due to space and operational constraints at the existing Pontfadog wastewater treatment works, it wouldn’t be practical to carry out the necessary improvement works on the current site.
As a result, we will be investing over £2.5 million to build a new pumping station on the outskirts of the village to pump the wastewater away to Dolywern wastewater treatment works to be cleaned and treated.
We will be building a new small pumping station in a corner of a field next to the B4500. We will then need to put in a new wastewater pipe along a section of the B4500 and then through fields from the new pumping station to Dolywern wastewater treatment works.
So that our teams can work safely we will have traffic lights along the B4500 as we put in the new wastewater pipes. Our teams will be working on the new pipeline from the Summer of 2026 and we should be finished by the end of the year. We will be working on the B5400 from the end of the summer until end of 2026 . We will then build the new pumping station and installing new pipes in fields late Spring 2027.
Our Dolywern wastewater treatment works treats and cleans wastewater from the village before returning it to the River Ceiriog.
So that the works can meet new tighter limits that will be set on the site and to help accommodate the additional flows that will be pumped from Pontfadog, we will be expanding the current site and installing new state of the art equipment on site. This will ensue the water that leaves the site after it has been treated will be cleaner and meets the new tighter limits which will help protect the quality of the River Ceiriog.
To allow us to carry out the work on site, we will create a temporary haulage road through the adjacent filed and we will need to remove some of the existing trees on site. This work will be done by specialist contractors with supervision from an environmental advisor. At the end of the scheme we will be replanting trees on site as well as additional trees in other locations to help improve the local environment.
Before we start our improvement work on site in October 2026, our maintenance team will be carrying out essential work on site over the Summer in 2026.
To help us carry out the work in the area we will have a compound area in the field next to our wastewater treatment works in Dolywern from mid-May 2026 onwards.
Our wastewater treatment works in Glyn Ceiriog is just off the B4500 and cleans and treats wastewater from the village before returning into the River Ceiriog.
Treatment standards are becoming more stringent, so we need to make sure our processes remove more pollutants to help protect local rivers. With tighter discharge limits being set for the site, we will be upgrading Glyn Ceiriog wastewater treatment works so that the treated water leaving the site is cleaner.
We also need to create more space on site to store wastewater during heavy rain. When it rains a lot in the area, more water flows to the sewer system. We need to increase capacity on our site to be able to hold this extra storm water. This means we will be able to hold more on site and help reduce discharges during heavy storms.
So that the works can meet new tighter limits and help store more storm water, we will be carrying out improvement work on site and installing new equipment. All the work will be carried out within our existing site although we will have a compound area next to the works while we carry out our work. We will be setting up our compound area in June 2026 and plan to start the work on site later in the year.
To allow us to carry out the work on site, we will need to remove some of the existing hedgerows on site. This work will be done by specialist contractors with supervision from an environmental advisor. At the end of the scheme, we will be replanting hedgerows on site as well as additional trees in other locations to help improve the local environment.
In Your Area
You’ll find more information and regular updates on our work on site at Pontfadog, Dolywern and Glyn Ceiriog on our ‘In Your Area’ page. Make sure you follow us on the page as well to receive notifications of updates.
Environment
We also have a lot of useful information on our website about our role in improving river water quality and the wider environment.