§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is (a) the cost of and (b) the amount of untreated water supplied to the Severn-Trent water authority by the Welsh water authority; and what is the cost and amount of processed water sold back to the Welsh water authority by the Severn-Trent water authority.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe Severn-Trent water authority paid the Welsh water authority the sum of £1,538,947 in 1980–81 in respect of licensed abstractions of raw water totalling 36,010 million gallons. In the same year, the Welsh water authority paid the Severn-Trent water authority the sum of £348,047 in respect of supplies of 2,503 million gallons of treated or partially treated water.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to investigate the cost to public funds of the process of exporting water from Wales to England and bringing it back again by the Welsh water authority.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsNo water is exported from Wales to England and subsequently re-exported to Wales. If the question relates to the abstraction by the Severn-Trent water authority of water from the River Wye near Ross and the return of a proportion of it, after treatment, for use by consumers in Herefordshire, this arrangement is considered by both Authorities to be advantageous and to maximise the use of resources.