Mitchel Troy and Trellech councillors, Cllr Richard John and Cllr Jayne McKenna, have held a meeting with Penallt residents and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to raise serious concerns over the poor water quality residents are getting.

Residents from Glyn Road, Birches Road, Upper Ferry Road and Lone Lane near Penallt are at the end of the line from Monmouth and are routinely getting interruptions in the supply of clean drinking water, receiving yellow or even brown water.

While the wider Monmouth area has benefited from significant investment in pipe replacement over the past two years, many rural properties around Penallt area are still reliant on 12km of old pipework, including 6km of unlined lead pipes.

Representatives from Welsh Water explained that the company has no plans to upgrade the pipework, but is regularly undertaking maintenance, monitoring and pipe flushing to remove build-up of sediment.

Cllr Richard John said, “While we’re grateful to Welsh Water for attending the meeting and explaining their work, it is unacceptable that residents near Penallt are having to put up with regular breaks in the supply of clean water.

“While more proactive maintenance of the old lead pipework is welcome, it is clear that the solution is to reline or replace the pipework.

“We recognise that Welsh Water’s infrastructure investment plan is now set until 2030, but it’s vital that Penallt is prioritised in the subsequent five-year programme.”

Cllr Jayne McKenna added, “This is a postcode lottery. These customers of Welsh Water are receiving a poorer service because they happen to live in country lanes.

“At the meeting, a number of actions were agreed to improve communication with residents and continue to monitor and flush the pipes to remove build-up of sediment.

“We all emphasised that upgrading this old pipework must feature in Welsh Water’s next five-year investment plan.”

The councillors are encouraging residents to report any water quality issues to Welsh Water and to share their experiences to help build the case for investment.