Yorkshire Water has been fined £1,600,750 for polluting a Bradford watercourse in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency. The company appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court for sentence on Monday, 18 July, where it pleaded guilty to unauthorised sewage discharges into Bradford Beck, and breaches of its environmental permit. The court heard its George Street […]
The Environment Agency is today calling for: Courts to impose much higher fines for serious and deliberate pollution incidents. Fines currently handed down by the courts often amount to less than a Chief Executive’s salary. Prison sentences for Chief Executives and Board members whose companies are responsible for the most serious incidents and company directors struck […]
The Environment Agency has launched a new crowd reporter website to enable Severn Valley residents to share details of flooding in their communities. The Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS) Crowd Reporter is a crowd-sourced mapping tool which can be used to submit descriptions and pictures of localised flooding. Residents are encouraged to use the […]
Scottish Water is set to invest up to £100m in technology to monitor its sewage pipes following successful trials. It said that investment in systems including remote sensors is set to improve its service to customers, protect the environment, reduce costs and assist in its journey towards net zero carbon emissions. The systems are designed […]
Common medications, as well as illegal drugs, released into the environment can damage ecosystems and interfere with the growth and behaviour of animals and plants. The medicines that make us well are having untold impacts on nature, says a news piece from the Natural History Museum. After entering the water through sewage systems, rainwater runoff and factory discharges, […]
Is water quality in British rivers “better than at any time since the end of the Industrial Revolution”? A comprehensive review of the Industrial Revolution claim has been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, authored by researchers from the universities of Leicester, Durham, Cardiff, Bristol, York and Stirling as well as WWF-UK, the […]
Environment Agency chief warns of irreversible biodiversity damage that could eventually kill off humans. A new Environment Agency study shows 41% of England’s native flora and fauna species have considerably decreased since 1970, with 15% at serious risk of extinction. As reported by Sky, in a speech to mark a new report on the extent […]
Ofwat has announced a new “open access” competition for innovators as its £200m Innovation Fund evolves to encourage more diverse ideas to transform water services for customers, the environment and society. Ofwat’s innovation fund incentivises and rewards collaborative innovation in the water sector that meet key objectives for the industry around one (or more) of […]