06 Dec 2017

Giving evidence last week to a Parliamentary Inquiry, Environment Agency chief James Bevan admitted that England will miss its already deferred water quality targets out to 2027. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee took evidence on Wednesday 21 November on the work of the Environment Agency. The EA is the main public body for […]

11 Oct 2017

Environment Agency: A PhD student at Bangor University, co-funded by the Environment Agency, has taken us closer to using DNA analysis for routine monitoring of freshwater macroinvertebrates (animals a few millimetres long such as insect larvae). The project successfully used new techniques to analyse environmental DNA (eDNA) released by organisms into water, for example in […]

19 Sep 2017

The government reports that Atlantic salmon have been discovered on the River Ecclesbourne, a tributary of the River Derwent, Derbyshire for the first time since the Industrial Revolution following work carried out by the Environment Agency and its partners. The discovery comes following the installation of fish passes on the River Derwent by the Environment […]

14 Dec 2016

Europe: new report says water quality improves but challenges remain The quality of drinking water and bathing water, and the effectiveness of waste water treatment across the European Union continues to improve – but challenges remain, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has been published. However, pollution from sources like waste water treatment […]

29 Sep 2016

The latest reports from the Environment Agency on environmental performance show that pollution incidents from water companies operating mainly in England are falling while the quality of the water environment continues to rise. In 2015, 65% of all serious pollution incidents affected the water environment, while 19% affected air and 21% affected land. The water […]

07 Sep 2016

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom has announced plans to ban the sale and manufacture of cosmetics and personal care products containing tiny pieces of plastic, commonly known as ‘microbeads’. Each year billions of tiny beads end up in our seas from a range of products such as face scrubs, toothpastes and shower gels. These beads build […]

31 Aug 2016

Guardian – Natural England: England’s best-loved wildlife still in serious decline, report shows. ‘Government countryside assessment paints a ‘grim picture’ with key species such as hedgehogs, dormice, birds and butterflies all continuing to decrease in number Much of England’s best-loved wildlife remains in serious decline, according to the latest official assessment from the government. Birds […]