Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has announced a number of huge investments throughout Wales.

Firstly, they will invest more than £20m in a new wastewater treatment works for Cardigan.

The move comes following concerns about saline intrusion from the tidal river.

This significant investment, announced last year, comes after the current treatment process was found that seawater enters the site from the tidal river during spring high tide.

The current system's trouble with saline intrusion, where seawater enters and overwhelms the site, often leads to local storm overflows discharging more frequently than desired.

Welsh Water, in consultation with the regulator Natural Resources Wales (NRW), has attempted various solutions, including mitigating the influx of seawater into the network.

Despite their efforts, the challenges have not been entirely overcome, necessitating a complete replacement of the works.

An in-depth trial at Cardigan Wastewater Treatment Works has enabled the water company to identify a new process capable of better dealing with the influx of seawater.

It's hoped this measure will reduce spill frequency.

Welsh Water is holding a drop-in event at Theatre Mwldan (Room M6) on Monday, May 13 from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

Managing director of wastewater services at Welsh Water, Steve Wilson, said: "We've been working hard in recent years to tackle these challenges at Cardigan Wastewater Treatment Works, and we have identified that the only sustainable solution involves investing over £20 million to replace the works at Cardigan.

"This large investment will help ensure that we have capacity at the site to take wastewater and implement measures to prevent the influx of salt water.

"This in turn will ensure that we treat wastewater efficiently and reduce the number of spills from this site into the estuary."

Welsh Water is also investing in its wider network across the Teifi catchment, with over £5m set for three more wastewater treatment projects by end of 2025, including Pencader (£2.8m), Lampeter (£1.3m) and Cwrtnewydd (£1.2m).

Work on the new Cardigan treatment works is set to start in April 2025 and is projected to be complete by April 2027.

Until then, a temporary treatment plant has been installed to manage some of the stormwater entering the works.

Welsh Water maintains a vast network across the Teifi catchment, including over 30 wastewater treatment works, around 70 sewage pumping stations and more than 200km of sewers.

The network helps treat the wastewater from nearly 14,000 households and businesses in the region.

Mr Wilson has said: "We would like to reassure the community that we are committed to protecting the local environment and helping to improve the quality of the Afon Teifi.

"We are working with our contractors, regulators and supply chain to bring the start of this project forward as much as possible, and we will continue to engage with the local community throughout this project."