Water UK’s recent report, 21st century rivers: ten actions for change, puts storm overflows in the context of the full range of reasons why rivers are falling short of good ecological health. It calls for a new cross sector National plan for rivers to systematically tackle them.
21st Century Rivers: From Recovery to Renewal
Over much of the last 100 years our rivers have been in a state of crisis. The water industry has played a leading part in the fightback, but the truth is that this is not enough. Now we’re calling for a new deal for rivers in England. Find out about the actions we’re taking and our ten recommendations.
As recently as the early 1990s, over a fifth of sewage was not being treated properly, killing huge swathes of life in oxygen ‘dead zones’. The water industry is proud to have played a leading part in the fightback.
Over the last 30 years we have:
- invested £30 billion in the environment
- cut the number of beaches that fail legal standards from over a third to just 0.5%
- cut ammonia emissions by 70%, phosphates by 60%, and toxic metals like cadmium and mercury by 50%
- reduced serious pollution incidents by 90% to reach the lowest levels ever recorded
- seen habitats and species recover, including those sensitive to water quality, like the return in the early 2000s of seal colonies in the Thames Estuary, and the recovery in recent decades of England’s otter population
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