06 Oct 2022
The Environment Secretary has announced that the potential civil penalty is to rise from £250,000 to up to £250 million to help bring quicker enforcement action against water companies for causing pollution. The Minister will bring forward proposals to raise the civil penalty for water companies who pollute the environment by 1,000-fold. The […]
22 Sep 2022
The Environment Agency and Northumberland Rivers Trust have relocated hundreds of native crayfish from the abundant populations found in the River Wansbeck in Morpeth, to six refuge sites in North Northumberland. These refuges, known as ‘Ark’ sites, give the crayfish new safe places to breed and build their numbers, ensuring several populations remain if disaster strikes […]
08 Sep 2022
Testing of rivers in England has fallen dramatically in the past 10 years, with experts warning it leaves a vacuum of knowledge about the effects of pollution. Environment Agency data shows its river testing has fallen from nearly 100,000 samples a year in 2012 to 41,519 in 2021 – the lowest level of sampling in 20 years […]
01 Sep 2022
Sir James Bevan, the CEO of the Environment Agency, has said that Britons need to be ‘less squeamish’ about drinking water from sewage. Writing in the Sunday Times [paywall] and reported in the Guardian and Evening Standard. He said it was “perfectly safe and healthy, but not something many fancy”. Sir James Bevan outlined measures […]
30 Aug 2022
The Environment Agency has released a research report, ‘The extent and zonation of saltmarsh in England 2016 – 2019’ The report examines the overall picture of change in saltmarsh extent in England over a decade: 2006-2009 to 2016-2019. In 2011, the Environment Agency published the first saltmarsh national inventory mapped from aerial imagery captured between 2006 […]
25 Aug 2022
Environment Agency CEO calls for “complete gear change” in how water companies and water users think about how they use water. The National Drought Group (NDG), made up of senior decision-makers from the Environment Agency, government, water companies and key representative groups met again (23 August) under the chairmanship of Sir James Bevan, […]
17 Aug 2022
Most parts of the UK have seen significant rainfall over the last few days, but the drought is not over. Latest news includes Hosepipe bans in Yorkshire Water (from 26 Aug) and potentially Thames Water Environment Secretary meeting with water companies Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, calling for greater investment in […]
03 Aug 2022
Following last week’s piece about the EA’s convening of the National Drought Group, the National Infrastructure Commission has warned of emergency queues on the streets, without swift and extensive hosepipe ban and compulsory water metering. This follows the driest July in England since 1935. Reported in the Guardian, “a national hosepipe ban should be implemented […]
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