Blaenau Gwent is located in the south-eastern valleys of Wales and covers approximately 42 square miles, with a population of around 67,000. The main rivers which flow through Blaenau Gwent include the Ebbw River, Ebbw Fach River and Sirhowy River.
As a business, Welsh Water has 4 wastewater treatment works and 3 water treatment works, as well as 609km of sewers and 477km water pipes to serve this county.
Over the next five years, we will be focusing on investing for the future. This includes continuing to improve resilience in our drinking water network as well as strengthening our efforts to protect and improve the local environment.
Every five years we prepare a regulatory business plan which is submitted to Ofwat as part of the Price Review process. The plans are based on customer views and cover our performance commitments, efficiency, investments, and bills. Below is an example of the work carried out in your area during the previous investment period 2020-2025.
We invested around £15 million to strengthen and upgrade the assets at Upper Carno reservoir, which is located just outside Ebbw Vale. The work at the site involved making improvements to the reservoir’s drawdown ability, which will allow us to lower the reservoir’s water level quickly, helping to reduce the impacts of flooding and allow for essential maintenance work to be carried out safely. It also included improvements to the water drainage channels that run around the dam.
The investment also included the creation of a brand-new spillway, which ensures excess water not used for supply to pass around the dam safely. This will help protect the dam from flood damage and ensure a reliable source of waste for the whole community.