Deeply concerning’ failures to properly implement regulations designed to protect rivers, lakes and coastal waters in England mean key targets for improvement will be missed, a report by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has found. As part of its role to monitor how environmental laws are working in practice the OEP has carried out […]
Defra has announced that a total of 27 new wild swimming spots in England are being designated as bathing waters ahead of the summer and will immediately benefit from regular water quality monitoring. Following a public consultation, the new bathing water sites will be designated ahead of the 2024 bathing water season, which runs between […]
The government has announced £11.5m extra funding to boost tree planting, habitat restoration and flood management across England through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. Projects to be funded this year include: The Limestone Becks River Restoration project in Lincolnshire, which will provide improved habitats for wildlife from water voles to invertebrates; Phase II of The York […]
On Wednesday 15 May, the Environmental Audit Committee considers what progress has been made in tackling water pollution and supply issues since it last examined the area in detail. It relates to the Committee’s 2022 Water quality in rivers report. Watch evidence from Defra, CIWEM, Water UK, Ofwat and others, covering infrastructure investment, resilience, regulation […]
This 3-minute piece on Channel 4 News Is critical of the Environment Agency testing regime for bathing waters, because some test results are discounted. Blurb Earlier this year, an investigation by this programme led to calls for a change to the system that’s meant to warn swimmers in England about pollution linked to sewage. We […]
A new, useful journal article, Forecasting bathing water quality in the UK: A critical review considers what an optimal framework for bathing water forecasting might look like. Abstract Climate change is altering rainfall patterns resulting in increasing variability and intensity of rainfall events worldwide. Increases to short duration, intense rainfall (i.e., convective rainfall), will lead […]
The Guardian reports that new EU rules which introduce “polluter pays” principles to get pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies to pay for the pollution they cause in rivers will not be adopted by the government in England, as campaigners say the country is falling behind. Lawmakers in Europe have signed off on an update to the urban waste […]
Members of the public are now invited to participate in a consultation to support the roll-out of potentially 27 new English bathing water sites. The two-week consultation will be administrated by the Environment Agency (EA) as part of the government’s plan to improve water quality across England. If designated, sites will receive regular water monitoring […]