Plans for open water swimming at reservoir near Pontypool

Welsh Water has announced it is looking to potentially open up some of its staffed reservoirs to open-water swimmers, as part of organised activities.

Due to the demand to open up the reservoirs, Welsh Water developed an Authorised Access to Water policy to make sure that any open water activities are tightly controlled and managed appropriately.

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A controlled pilot of open water swimming at Llandegfedd Reservoir, on the border of Torfaen and Monmouthshire, was held last year, with more than 760 open water swimmers and four clubs - made up of adults and children - taking part in 34 organised swimming sessions over the summer.

After a successful pilot, for plans to be put into motion, staff at the reservoir would first need to undertake open water lifeguard training as a part of the SH₂OUT accreditation process.

The plans would see the open water swimming programme introduced first at Llandegfedd, as Welsh Water would then look to achieve SH₂OUT accreditation for two further manned sites in 2021, working in partnership with Swim Wales and Welsh Triathlon.

Once the sites have been accredited as safe open water swimming venues, Welsh Water will work with partners to develop a programme of organised and carefully controlled activities, with sessions tailored to clubs, groups and individuals who want to take part.

Peter Perry, Welsh Water chief executive, said: “We are developing our visitor attractions as hubs for health and wellbeing and believe that by allowing access to water at designated reservoirs for organised open water activities such as open water swimming, we can support the health and wellbeing of our customer.

“Outdoor space has never been more important, and we have it in abundance at Welsh Water.”