WALES: Critical piece of water legislation, says Bates

10.43.08pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 10th Dec 2003

Mick Bates AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat environment and countryside spokesperson, today in plenary session welcomed the Water Framework Directive (WFD) but expressed his concern over the lack of attention paid to the directive the Assembly as a corporate whole and noted the need to create a water savings trust.

He said: "Water reserves are getting lower all the time, and this is partly due to bad management and wastage - our water-based biodiversity declines in parallel; the Government needs to get a grip on the issue rather than simply leaving matters on autopilot."

The Water Framework Directive changes the emphasis of water protection to direct measures to focus on aquatic biological communities; the benefits of this directive will include better quality raw water and great abundance in water supply.

"Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that Water is possibly the most precious environmental resource, and it is one that we use most lavishly", said Mr Bates, "To promote efficient use of water in the domestic and business sector we need a water savings trust, based on the energy saving trust model."