14 Aug 2025
Image description: A field of dry grass. Image by Alexandre Debiève / Unsplash The National Drought Group met this week with the current water shortfall situation in England now defined as a “nationally significant incident” according to the Environment Agency. The agency reported that five of its fourteen operational regions are already in drought, […]
31 Jul 2025
Farmers in England will get new payments for cleaning up the waterways near their land, the environment secretary has said, as reported in the Guardian. Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union water summit at Beeston Hall farm in West Yorkshire, Steve Reed said his department would be launching changes to the sustainable farming incentive (SFI) […]
31 Jul 2025
Ofwat has proposed a £62.8m enforcement package following its finding that Anglian Water has breached its legal obligations in operating its wastewater treatment works and network. Ofwat’s investigation found that Anglian Water has failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets adequately to ensure they could cope with the flows of sewage […]
31 Jul 2025
New findings from studying over two decades of satellite observations reveal that Earth’s continents have experienced unprecedented freshwater loss since 2002, driven by climate change, unsustainable groundwater use and extreme droughts. The study, led by Arizona State University and published in Science Advances, highlights the emergence of four continental-scale “mega-drying” regions, all located in the northern hemisphere, […]
31 Jul 2025
A new report released by the Convention on Wetlands warns that wetlands—ecosystems that provide water, food, livelihoods, and climate protection—are disappearing at an alarming rate. If current trends continue, up to 20% of the world’s remaining wetlands could vanish by 2050, putting an estimated $39 trillion in global benefits at risk. Photo: Nick Fewings […]
31 Jul 2025
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is to conclude its investigation into the regulation of combined sewer overflows after securing significant progress in tackling the issues it has raised. Through its investigation the OEP found that there have been failures to comply with environmental law by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), […]
24 Jul 2025
A new scheme is being trialled in south Wales with the aim of recycling an extra 200 tonnes of farm plastics to reduce farm plastic pollution in rivers. The Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Four Rivers for LIFE project is working with Agriculture Plastics Environment (APE), Birch Farm Plastics and Afonydd Cymru to increase the collection […]
24 Jul 2025
Following the announcement by the UK environment secretary of plans to scrap Ofwat and create a single regulator, reaction from across the water sector and stakeholders has been widespread. A landmark review into the industry – led by Sir Jon Cunliffe – concluded that Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority for England and Wales, should […]
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