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 UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, The Rivers Trust, The Angling Trust, and the USA’s Ronin Institute. The study challenges recent claims from UK government that water quality in British Rivers is “better than at any time since the end of the Industrial Revolution”.

Although progress has been made in reducing some pollutants over the past three decades, a new study shows a mixed picture, and does not comprehensively support these claims. Available water quality data indicate that rivers downstream from major towns and cities have seen improvements in the levels of some pollutants, but local pressures remain, often from combined sewer overflows. In addition, many new pollutants, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, are not routinely monitored and are likely to be on the rise, as demand for these products has grown over time.

In areas with intensive agriculture the water quality of rivers today is more affected by agrochemicals such as pesticides and nitrogen fertilisers than it was before the 1960s. The scientists collated available, often very limited, data for seven different categories of water pollutants from the late 19th Century up to the present day, combined with insights into historical population growth, industrial activity and wastewater treatment provision, as part of the analysis. In Wales, the review suggests there has been some recovery from the past effects of acid rain and also from the effects of sanitary pollution which led in the 1970s to 70% of rivers in the South Wales Valleys being classed as “grossly polluted”.

The researchers noted that, while levels of some pollutants probably peaked at some point between the 1960s and the mid-1990s and have since declined, water quality is still “unacceptably poor” in multiple areas across the UK, and there are signs that recent progress to tackle pollution has stalled. Levels of nitrate in many catchments remain high, and levels of most synthetic organic pollutants are unknown.

The authors of the study have called for urgent improvements to water quality in many rivers and streams, as well as enhancements to monitoring programmes, including increased frequency and geographical spread of sampling and including a wider range of pollutants in routine analyses.

The full press release from WWF can be read here, along with York University and Cardiff University. ENDSReport also covered the story [behind paywall].The journal paper can be read here.