Up to £11 million in water company fines and penalties will be reinvested back into a new Water Restoration Fund (WRF), Environment Secretary Steve Barclay announced this week. All water company environmental fines and penalties since April 2022 have been ringfenced to directly improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund will offer grant funding […]
Defra has published documents showing the catchment areas wholly or partly in England which have been designated as sensitive under section 96C of the Water Industry Act. The documents include the designation notice and a map of the sensitive catchment areas. They have been designated due to the habitats site related to the catchment being […]
From Utility Week and Yorkshire Water Ben Aston, biodiversity specialist at Yorkshire Water, sheds light on the firm’s joint investment in pollinator superhighways and their impact on managing its water catchments. Yorkshire Water recently revealed that surveys are underway at six of its sites – Fewston, Swinsty, Thruscross, Embsay, Grimwith and Barden reservoirs – after […]
Defra & EA – Update to the RBMPs The Environment Agency must review and update RBMPs every 6 years. Their review and update of the current RBMPs is underway. They expect the consultation on the draft RBMPs to start in 2021. The Environment Agency has concluded that the requirement for a strategic environmental assessment for the third cycle review of the river […]
Yorkshire Water has been shortlisted for an award celebrating its contribution to conserving the natural environment. The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management Awards recognise the success of projects, businesses and individuals who have made significant contributions to protecting the natural environment. Yorkshire Water is one of three shortlisted for the Large-Scale Practical Nature […]
Natural Flood Management – how much can it help nationally? Floods in the winter of 2019-20 sparked a lot of discussion on whether our focus in managing risk should shift from traditional defences to embrace natural flood management – using techniques to improve soil properties, slow the flow of water in catchments, leaky dams etc […]
Nathan Richardson ‘In terms of Water then a heads up that Defra are looking to consult on a range of topics in the next 3 to 4 months (see below) with a view to being in position to affect them through primary legislation when the opportunity arises (possibly through clauses in the Environment Bill (Part […]
Dame Glenys Stacey review proposes farm regulation shake-up A more supportive, flexible and incentives-led approach to farming regulation has been recommended as part of a review into the sector published today. A more supportive, flexible and incentives-led approach to farming regulation has been recommended as part of wide-ranging review into the sector published today (Thursday […]