Last week’s news included an investigation by the Guardian suggesting that the Government could abandon Water Framework Directive standards in England.

Defra and the Environment Agency have said that the investigation is inaccurate, claiming that no decision to diverge from EU standards on water quality monitoring has been made and stressing a continuing commitment to improving water quality. Indeed, in its recent annual report, the Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell signalled that the regulator’s focus on water quality will intensify.

So what’s the truth?

An article in the Ends Report suggests that the government is still planning on producing and publishing a complete set of 2025 WFD data, which will be used to provide a baseline for 2027 river basin plans. However, due to budget constraints, the assessments for each water body may be based on samples taken from fewer points in order to maximise cost-effectiveness.

In a further piece related to abstraction from rivers and aquifers, the Guardian claims that the Environment Agency has nearly halved water-use inspections in the last five years.