24 Apr 2025
Water companies should no longer be allowed to monitor their own levels of sewage pollution, the industry body has told the BBC exclusively. Instead they are proposing a new, third-party monitoring system to build consumer trust. The recommendation is part of a submission made to the UK government’s independent review into the water […]
17 Apr 2025
Image description: People attending a march. A man is wearing a green t-shirt which reads “don’t poison our water”. Image credit The Climate Reality Project. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) have released their annual water quality report, which “brings together sewage discharge data, sickness data and figures from our Safer Seas and Rivers Service app […]
17 Apr 2025
Image description: Rowing boats stowed away. Image credit Antonio Babuli/ Pexels. The iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race took place on Sunday 13 April. However, pre-race excitement was overshadowed by results from water-quality testing, which revealed levels of E. coli bacteria almost three times above the Environment Agency’s threshold for “poor” bathing waters, along […]
17 Apr 2025
Image description: The Roman Baths museum in Bath. Image credit Rachel Claire / Pexels. The University of Bath has opened the UK’s first pilot wastewater monitoring centre which it says could help avoid future pandemics. The early-warning public health surveillance system is based on detecting traces of chemicals and biological markers found in water. […]
17 Apr 2025
Image description: Sewage pipes on the right flow out into an ocean on the left. Image by Tom Fisk / Pexels. New levy proposed to cover enforcement costs The Environment Agency (EA) has revealed details of how it intends to implement a levy on water companies to recoup the money it needs to carry […]
10 Apr 2025
Image description: A wading curlew foraging in water. Image by Rober So / Pexels. New planning reforms could push species towards extinction and destroy precious habitats, the UK’s leading nature organisations have warned the government. The heads of over 30 UK conservation groups have written to Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed and Housing […]
03 Apr 2025
Published just ahead of World Water Day by WWF and GlobeScan, The Future Water Agenda: How water can lead the way for sustainability and collective action details the top global concerns. Water pollution is viewed as a ‘very serious’ issue by 63% of people. Photo: Rebecca Bliklen Three other water-related issues – depletion […]
27 Mar 2025
Raw sewage was released into England’s rivers and seas for a record 3.61 million hours last year as Labour calls the new figures “disgraceful”. The Rivers Trust analysis of Environment Agency spill data counted 450,398 discharges. While the number of sewage spills by water companies marginally decreased compared to 2023, each spill lasted longer on […]
