The Environment Agency has warned that 86% of river water bodies in England failed to reach good ecological status in 2016 – and is calling on the water companies to do more. The warning comes in the Agency’s State of the Environment report on the water quality of rivers, estuaries, coasts and groundwater in England, published today. […]
Gove – Oxford Farming conference speech on reform of agricultural subsidy. It is a long read but there is a clear series of statements on, “Paying for what we value” later on in the speech. “The principal public good we will invest in is of course environmental enhancement. In thinking about how better to support […]
Following the consultation it initiated in 2015, Defra has released its conclusions on farming rules for water. Click here for a press notice, policy paper and overview of the rules. Defra’s documents outline the new rules and say that in essence: the rules cover both management of fertilisers and manure and management of soils; in […]
Defra, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Rural Payments Agency are developing a scheme under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) called the Water Environment Grant (WEG) to fund improvements to the water environment. The proposed scheme is being designed to support delivery of projects that are currently funded through the Water Environment […]
Defra publish strategic policy statement Water UK Communications: Defra publish their strategic policy statement for the water industry for consultation. This document sets out the government’s strategic priorities for Ofwat’s regulation of the water sector in England. We welcome the move to a more concise SPS which clearly highlights securing long-term resilience and protecting customers […]
The Water, Energy & Food Nexus An array a high level inputs has informed a new report by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology summarises current understanding of the interactions between water, energy and food production and examines how nexus approaches can be used to inform policy decisions. It says that failure to take […]
My thanks to Bruce Horton for pulling this together. The Conference of Parties (COP) meeting in Marrakech (COP22) ratified the Paris agreement and also produced a wide range of really useful and interesting reports and initiatives for those in the water and energy sectors. At COP22 in Marrakech, the Paris agreement (which has been ratified […]
Veolia – Imagine 2050 The Future of Water, Waste & Energy How Business view the future: A new report, Imagine 2050, published today by leading resource management company Veolia, highlights the innovative business models needed in three sectors to meet resource and waste challenges between now and 2050. The manufacturing, pharmaceutical & chemical and food […]