{"id":718600,"date":"2026-07-30T06:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/718600\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T06:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:18:10","slug":"bright-orange-water-from-disused-reservoirs-near-treatment-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/718600\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright orange water from disused reservoirs near treatment works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n  The unusual discolouration was reported near a treatment works in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwalesargus.co.uk\/news\/mylocalnews\/torfaen\/ponthir\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ponthir<\/a>, raising fears of pollution among residents who use the area for fishing and recreation.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Images and videos shared online point to the issue persisting for several months on land off Candwr Road.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>Water with a strong orange tint seen near a popular local fishing spot in Ponthir. (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  One resident, who reported the issue to the Argus, said: &#8220;You get people fishing here and occasionally children swimming. There are lots of weeds so it&#8217;s not safe to swim in but with school holidays now who knows.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  The same orange hue was captured in images taken more than a month ago, suggesting an ongoing issue.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  After investigating, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwalesargus.co.uk\/topics\/natural-resources-wales\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Natural Resources Wales (NRW)<\/a> said they do not believe this is a pollution incident.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  A NRW spokesman said: &#8220;We have spoken with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southwalesargus.co.uk\/topics\/welsh-water-dwr-cymru\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">D\u0175r Cymru Welsh Water<\/a> regarding the photos and video shared with us.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;Based on the information provided, we do not believe this is a pollution incident.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;The discharge into the lagoon is part of the treatment process within D\u0175r Cymru Welsh Water&#8217;s Court Farm Water Treatment Works and is part of normal site operations.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>Water with a strong orange tint seen near a popular local fishing spot in Ponthir. (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Welsh Water confirmed that the colour comes from iron content in untreated water being recycled as part of the treatment process.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  A spokesman said: &#8220;The footage shows untreated water being returned to the reservoir.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;The water is being recycled from our processes at the Water Treatment Works and does have a level of iron content which is the discoloration observed.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>Water with a strong orange tint seen near a popular local fishing spot in Ponthir. (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He explained that the recycled water comes from filter washing processes, which help conserve water and protect the environment.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He said: &#8220;The water from the reservoir is transferred to our Water Treatment Works where it is treated to the high standards set by our regulators.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  &#8220;Drinking water quality standards in Wales are among the best in the world.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Iron naturally occurs in water and soil, and exposure to oxygen can turn it rust-coloured.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  While authorities have reassured residents that the discolouration is not linked to pollution, its unusual appearance has raised concerns\u2014particularly with more children expected to be outside during the summer holidays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The unusual discolouration was reported near a treatment works in Ponthir, raising fears of pollution among residents who&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-718600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}