A new campaign which is aiming to encourage people to consider different ways of controlling pests and disease thereby improving water quality is to be launched today.
PestSmart, a joint initiative supported by the Welsh government, says it wishes to encourage farmers and landowners to 'consider the way they manage their land to help improve raw water quality before it reaches water treatment works.'
Ian Christie, managing director of water services at Welsh Water said the campaign will 'signpost' land managers to advice and practical solutions for weed, pest and disease control.
"Our routine raw water monitoring programme has detected increasing traces of pesticides in areas we have never seen them before. While these levels are too low to pose a risk to those drinking the water, they are enough to breach the rigorous drinking water standards so we want to work with land managers to take action to address this issue together.
"Anyone who is interested in finding out if they are eligible for either of these initiatives or who wants more information on our PestSmart campaign can visit our stand at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair where Welsh Water staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have."
'Reduce risks'
Lesley Griffiths, Welsh government cabinet secretary for environment and rural affairs said "If we are going to protect our water environment for future generations, we will need to be imaginative about how to do this.
"The PestSmart initiative is an innovative approach that provides an excellent example of the sort of new collaborative approaches we want to foster in the years ahead."
Diane McCrea, Chair of the Natural Resources Wales Board, said, "The two elements of the PestSmart campaign – the free pesticide disposal scheme and the weed wiper initiative which is available in targeted areas across Wales – will both reduce the risk of pesticides accidently finding their way into watercourses.
"We know that pesticides play an essential and everyday role for farmers and land managers in Wales. But is essential that any unwanted or out of date pesticides are disposed of safely so that they don’t have a damaging effect on people, water nor wildlife. The programme launched today is a way of collecting and disposing of pesticides in a safe and secure way."
