Whilst spring rainfall has been a welcome relief for most of the country, experts caution that ongoing action will remain vital for securing our water supply into the future. At last week’s meeting of the National Drought Group (Wednesday 24 May), chaired by Environment Agency Chief Executive John Curtin, the group discussed how the government, […]
New analysis of official Environment Agency data has revealed the worrying scale of chemical cocktail pollution in rivers and other freshwater sites across England. The research, which looked at the prevalence of 5 chemical cocktails known to have toxic impacts for wildlife, also highlights the lack of official monitoring for known harmful chemical cocktails, as […]
Chalk streams are a rare and valuable habitat, often referred to as the equivalent of England’s rainforests. Since 2020 the Environment Agency has been working in partnership with Norfolk Rivers Trust to improve an internationally important chalk stream, the River Wensum. Works taking place in Foulsham and Pudding Norton on 2 tributaries of the river […]
The Environment Agency has updated information on 3 innovative programmes to improve resilience to flooding and coastal change. The flood and coastal resilience innovation programme has allocated £150 million to 25 local areas. The coastal transition accelerator programme will see £36 million will be invested to adapt to the effects of climate change on the […]
In a UK first, the Environment Agency, BAM Nuttall, Arup and Tarmac have successfully trialled the use of two low carbon concrete mixes for works at the Hexham Flood Alleviation Scheme. The low-carbon concrete has been used across 3 panels, totalling 27 metres of the £6.5 million Hexham flood defences as part of a plan […]
The Guardian reports that a chemicals company is releasing large quantities of a “forever chemical” described as being “very persistent, mobile and toxic” into the River Wyre in Lancashire each year, and is not breaking any rules. Earlier this year, the Guardian and Watershed Investigations revealed that effluent coming from the site of AGC Chemicals Europe in Thornton-Cleveleys could […]
Anglian Water pleaded guilty and was hit with a fine of £2.65m after allowing untreated sewage to overflow into the North Sea following a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency (EA). A catalogue of failures by the company to manage and monitor effluent at the Jaywick Water Recycling Centre in Essex led to sewage being […]
The government has published new guidance on calculating the impact of flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes on the natural and historic environment. There is also a tool to calculate a monetary value of the impact. EHOV (Environment and Historic Environment Outcome Valuation) is an update to the 2010 Economic Valuation of Environmental Effects […]