# The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 W.S.I. 2026/121 · made 13 October 2026 These Regulations amend the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/77 (W. 20)) (“the 2021 Regulations”). Made under: Water Resources Act 1991 (Section 92, Section 219, Contents) PDFs: Printed copy https://openlegislation.uk/water-resources-control-of-agricultural-pollution-wales-amendment-regulations-2026/pdf/wsi_20260121_mi.pdf ## Introductory text AGRICULTURE, WALES WATER, WALES Made 13 October 2026 Coming into force 15 October 2026 The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 92 and 219 (2)(e) and (f) of the Water Resources Act 1991. ## 1 Title and coming into force The title of these Regulations is the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and they come into force on 15 October 2026. ## 2 Amendments to the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 (1) The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 are amended as follows. (2) In regulation 18, after “Subject to regulations” insert “18A,”. (3) After regulation 18 insert— “Temporary exemption for 2026 18A (1) Spreading organic manure with high readily available nitrogen on grassland or tillage land (regardless of the soil type for either land) is permitted between 15 October 2026 and 15 November 2026 inclusive, provided that— (a) the maximum amount of slurry that is spread at any one time is 30 cubic metres per hectare, and (b) there are at least three weeks between each spreading. (2) This regulation does not apply to the spreading of poultry manure.” ## Signature Llyr Gruffydd Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, one of the Welsh Ministers 13 October 2026 ## Explanatory note (This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations amend the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/77 (W. 20)) (“the 2021 Regulations”). Regulation 18 of the 2021 Regulations prescribes the closed periods during which the spreading of organic manure with high readily available nitrogen is prohibited. Regulation 2 of these Regulations inserts new regulation 18A into the 2021 Regulations. New regulation 18A provides a temporary exemption from the prohibition in regulation 18, permitting the spreading of organic manure with high readily available nitrogen during the period beginning with 15 October 2026 and ending with 15 November 2026, subject to restrictions on the amount of slurry that may be spread at any one time and the interval between each spreading. The exemption does not apply to the spreading of poultry manure. The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ and is published on www.gov.wales. --- Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2026/121 (the official version) Page: https://openlegislation.uk/water-resources-control-of-agricultural-pollution-wales-amendment-regulations-2026 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.