Natural Flood Management (NFM) has as Duncan Huggett outlines has become very fashionable, but it is neither new or, as a top level scientific review highlighted recently, a ‘silver bullet’. There are still many questions to answer in relation to its appropriate application, not least in terms of location of schemes in the catchment. With […]
Understanding eel and fish behaviour to improve protection and passage at river structures This project studied the behaviour of fish and eels to find better ways to protect them at flood control structures, weirs, hydropower sites and other intakes. The study showed significant impacts of some river structures on migrating eels, but also that understanding […]
Groundwater updates – This site provides a full list of the updates https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/groundwater-protection These include: Protect groundwater and prevent groundwater pollution Groundwater protection technical guidance Groundwater protection position statements Land contamination groundwater compliance points: quantitative risk assessments & fourteen more
Farmers Guardian: Defra has given the green light to a number of pilot projects to investigate the passing of river maintenance and operational activities from the Environment Agency (EA) to Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) where there is mutual agreement, a locally generated appetite, and benefit to doing so. According to the Association of Drainage Authorities […]
Monitoring Llangarron water quality from space Andrew Richman, Geomatics Project Manager, the Environment Agency and Crispin Hambidge, Geomatics Consultant, the Environment Agency, 27 January 2017 — Data Transformation, Defra digital, Defra Science and Innovation, Defra services, Earth Observation, Open data Environment Agency Geomatics experts Andrew Richman and Crispin Hambidge explain how satellite and LiDAR are helping Enforcement Officers identify agricultural runoff. Making data not just analysis-ready […]
We must tell the truth to safeguard the environment – Lord Chris Smith Posted on 1 February, 2017 by Green Alliance blog This post is by Lord Chris Smith, who was chair of the Environment Agency from 2008-14. ‘It was made very clear to us that, whilst private impartial advice was still sought and still welcome, it should […]
Another change (to me) in the way fines are managed. A few years ago the sentencing rules changed and water companies in particular have been paying out much larger sums in fines – often in excess of a millions pound. In another twist of the legal system there have been a wave of payments made […]
Water resources and efficiency Waterwise has produced a Think Piece on Water Efficiency and Climate Change. It looks at some of the potential threats posed by climate change to water resources as well as outlining actions to help safeguard water resources against these threats. Not surprisingly, it calls for a scaling up of water efficiency, […]