7,000 demand Senedd has full control of Welsh water as protests take place at valleys drowned to create reservoirs

7,000 have signed a petition demanding that the Senedd has full control of natural resources in Wales after YesCymru held protests at valleys drowned to create reservoirs around Wales.

The independence campaign group held a protest at Capel Celyn, flooded in 1965 to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and the Wirral with water.

Meanwhile, they also held a protest at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys which was created in the 1880s, submerging the village of Llanwddyn.

The waters of Llyn Celyn, the creation of which gave rise to the slogan ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’, are currently so low due to drought that the main road, chapel and burial ground are visible.

Currently, the Welsh Parliament and Government do not have control over the cross-border regulation of water over the border between Wales and England.

Campaigners argue that if Wales did have that power it could demand compensation for using Welsh water to provide drinking water in England, raising hundreds of millions.

Urging people to sign the petition, petition author Nerys Jenkins said:

“Work has already begun to transfer water from Wales to drought-hit areas of England, according to the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission.

“Water is a valuable commodity and this is another example of London syphoning away our most valuable resource without any consultation or benefit to our communities.

“Wales is rich in natural resources and we cannot continue to allow our future and our wealth to be taken from us. All natural resources must benefit us the people who live in Wales.”

The petition was launched after the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission said “work has already begun” to transfer water from Wales to drought-hit areas of England.

Sir John Armitt, speaking on The Briefing Room on Radio 4, said that water companies in England did not want to invest in reservoirs and that they were unpopular with communities that did not want to see their land flooded.

Instead, he said, Severn Trent and Thames Water were in talks to transfer water from Wales to the south of England, starting at Lake Vyrnwy and being transferred through pipes or a canal to the Thames basin.