The information on the situation with storm overflows continues to grab the attention: this week: The Rivers Trust – see below – have produced a map of sewage overspills in 2020 The BBC Panorama Programme has accused the water companies of illegally dumping sewage in rivers: watch the programme The only inland bathing water has […]
Angling Trust ‘A new report, Salmonid and fisheries statistics for England and Wales 2019, by the Environment Agency highlights the growing concern on the status of salmon populations in our rivers. In England & Wales, no rivers were categorised as being ‘not at risk’, with all 22 principal salmon rivers in Wales categorised at ‘at risk’ […]
The Rivers Trusts ‘Data released today by the Environment Agency (EA) shows that storm overflows (SOs) discharged untreated sewage and storm water more than 400,000 times, and for more than 3 million hours during 2020 in England. This is a shocking volume of untreated contaminated wastewater reaching our rivers and shows that our current approach […]
Nice (short) article from the Guardian on why doing nothing is often better for flood risk than overengineering For many of us across the UK it has felt like another wet winter; yet again homes have flooded and politicians are under pressure to improve flood protection. Engineering our rivers and building defences might bring reassurance, […]
From Rewilding Britain Thanks to significant river restoration projects, kingfisher sightings in the capital have increased by 450% since 2000. London has 400 miles of riverways, three-quarters of which are encased below ground in concrete and metal tubes. Since 2000, more than 20 miles have been restored. These rewilding efforts have also seen an increase […]
From the Call for Evidence The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is launching an inquiry into water quality in rivers. The EAC has previously inquired into nitrate pollution so this inquiry intends to focus on the water industry and urban diffuse pollution. Water quality has implications across the whole ecological system, from plant life to fish stocks to […]
Environment Agency Report: 3D buffer strips: designed to deliver more for the environment Report considers how we can improve the effectiveness of riparian buffer zones to help tackle agricultural pollution. This report considers how we can improve the effectiveness of riparian buffer zones to help tackle agricultural pollution. The project assesses the effectiveness of traditional […]
Rivers Trust ‘The #EndSewagePollution Coalition, a cross sector group of organisations, are asking the public to demand their MP stand up for rivers and bring an end to sewage pollution which risks human health and damages precious water habitats. The campaign calls on MPs to support the Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill, a Private Members Bill […]