Dwr Cymru, Welsh Water has had to rectify more defects in Caerphilly County after road and street works than all other statutory undertakers put together, Plaid Cymru has revealed.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, Plaid Cymru asked Caerphilly Council how many complaints they had made about the standard of works carried out between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2025.
In its response the council confirmed 62 so-called Section 72 defects had been raised against Dwr Cymru, Welsh Water. The next highest was Wales & West Utilities at 18. In total 106 complaints had been raised against statutory undertakers like the water and telecom companies over the two year period.
Penyrheol councillor Steve Skivens said that he’d asked for the information to be sought after complaints made to him about the standard of repair reinstatement work in Caerphilly county.
Councillor Steve Skivens said: “I appreciate that roads and pavements need to be dug up for a variety of reasons such as repairing water leaks or laying cables.
“But it is not acceptable when the reinstatement works are sub-standard and then council officers spend their time chasing up statutory undertakers.
“I appreciate that Dwr Cymru is dealing with lots of issues including sewage discharges into rivers and the sea but that is no excuse for not completing repair work satisfactory.
“The information provided for me shows that the number of requests for remedial work to be carried out by Dwr Cymru represents 65% of all requests and that is not good enough. I want to see much improved reinstatement work by all those that dig up our roads and pavements.”