Water Use

The use of water affects biodiversity in a number of ways.

Excessive water abstraction from watercourses and groundwater sources can lead to rivers, lakes and wetlands being severly depleted. This can have an effect on the wildlife that depends on them by altering the natural water levels.

Inappropriate watercourse management and surface drainage can reduce the naturalness, variety and extent of wildlife habitat along watercourses. Past river engineering and associated land drainage has led to a dramatic loss of wetland habitats.   

The demand for water needs to be carefully managed to protect biodiversity.Pollution from industrial process, mine-water discharges and from farm run-off as well as inappropriate use of agricultural chemicals can result in a decline or absence of species tha cannot tolerate these conditions.

 
Environment Agency   
 
Environment Agency Wales is an Assembly Sponsored Public Body with statutory responsibilities for the regulation, monitoring and management of land, water and air environment and the process that affect them. It also aims to protect and improve the environment and, in doing so contribute to sustainable development. One of the key aims of Environment Agency Wales' 5-year plan, its Local Contribution, is an "Enhanced Environment for Wildlife".

To ensure this EAW wish to see the following long term outcomes achieved. The UK's Biodiversity  Action Plan 'will have been successfully delivered and priority species will no longer be under threat. Rivers, estuaries, lakes and canals will support diverse and healthy fish populations. Degraded habitats, especially rivers, will have been improved or restored.' Key species and habitats for the EAW in Carmarthenshire include otter, water vole, shad, black bog ant and river shingles.

The Environment Agency is also producing Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies 9CAMS). These make more information on water resourecs allocation publicly available and allow the balance between the needs of abstractors and those of the aquatic environment to be determined in consultation with the local community and interested parties. A CAMS for the Teifi is being produced that aims to ensure that the river environment is protected and the availablity of resources for long term sustainable use is maximised.