10 Jan 2024

Reported by the BBC One of the biggest investors in Thames Water has slashed the value of its stake in the debt-laden utility by almost two-thirds, weeks after the company admitted that it does not have enough money to make its debt repayments. A fund controlled by Thames Water’s second largest investor, the University Superannuation […]

10 Jan 2024

CCW, the consumer body for water, has launched a consultation on its Strategy and Forward Work Programme, which sets out plans for what the organisation wants to achieve in 2024–25. The three areas are A trusted water sector Value for customers Transparency of performance Customer-focused culture Improved customer service Getting basics right for business customers Fair and […]

10 Jan 2024

The Red Cross has recognised the dangers of flooding to people and properties, highlighting how millions of people in the UK live and work in areas at risk of flooding. This useful resource sets out: How to prepare for a flood What to do during a flood What to do after a flood There is […]

10 Jan 2024

In this Vancouver suburb, innovative technology is harnessing heat from wastewater and using it as a renewable energy source to heat homes. In the midst of winter, the streets of Vancouver will be carpeted with a light layer of snow, punctuated by steaming openings where it has already melted. The access holes to the drains […]

10 Jan 2024

Interesting blog by Gill Wrigley, Sphagnum project officer, Calderdale Council Sphagnum moss holds twenty times its weight in water.   Once it was the most abundant plant on the hill tops of Calderdale, soaking up the water as soon as it falls, keeping the peat wet and slowing the flow of water into our steep sided […]

09 Jan 2024

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) can make important contributions towards decarbonising the shipping industry and supporting safe, secure and thriving oceans, not least through the critical role that their products and services play in the transition through route optimisation and improved geospatial data. The UKHO also have a wider role as the Primary Charting Authority […]

09 Jan 2024

Every year, around 70,000 turtles and 200,000 seabirds die as a result of being caught as bycatch in EU fishing fleets.   Bycatch is when other marine species are unintentionally trapped by commercial fishing gear. This can account for up to 40% of total fishing catches, globally reaching as much as 38 million tonnes discarded per […]

09 Jan 2024

A species of ray, so rare it has only ever been recorded once back in the late 1800s, has been declared extinct. The loss of the Java Stingaree, a small relative of stingrays, is the first marine fish extinction as a result of human activity. The Java Stingaree (Urolophus javanicus) was known only from a […]