Europe: new report says water quality improves but challenges remain The quality of drinking water and bathing water, and the effectiveness of waste water treatment across the European Union continues to improve – but challenges remain, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has been published. However, pollution from sources like waste water treatment […]
The latest reports from the Environment Agency on environmental performance show that pollution incidents from water companies operating mainly in England are falling while the quality of the water environment continues to rise. In 2015, 65% of all serious pollution incidents affected the water environment, while 19% affected air and 21% affected land. The water […]
Torridge and North Devon Councils have established a new Water Quality task team to monitor and improve the water quality of the Taw and Torridge Estuary. Working in partnership with the North Devon Biosphere, Environment Agency and South West Water the group will be looking to bring the quality of the water in the region’s […]
Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom has announced plans to ban the sale and manufacture of cosmetics and personal care products containing tiny pieces of plastic, commonly known as ‘microbeads’. Each year billions of tiny beads end up in our seas from a range of products such as face scrubs, toothpastes and shower gels. These beads build […]
Guardian – Natural England: England’s best-loved wildlife still in serious decline, report shows. ‘Government countryside assessment paints a ‘grim picture’ with key species such as hedgehogs, dormice, birds and butterflies all continuing to decrease in number Much of England’s best-loved wildlife remains in serious decline, according to the latest official assessment from the government. Birds […]
Defra: Minister Rory Stewart opens Europe’s first zero-chemical, zero-power, metal mine water-treatment scheme. An innovative treatment works using the natural environment to clean metal-rich water from an abandoned mine has been opened by Water Minister Rory Stewart in Cumbria today. Set in the breath-taking Cumbrian hills near Keswick, the Force Crag mine water treatment scheme […]
WWF-UK, the Angling Trust & Fish Legal Judicial Review secured a major step forward for the protection of our most important rivers and wetlands. The Judge recognised the need for urgent action to protect these precious places and the wildlife that lives there. As a result of their legal victory today, the Government must evaluate […]
I missed this when it came out – masked by the election – but this article written at the end of March by Rob Cunningham raises serious questions. RSPB ‘Our rivers are among our most iconic landscapes, but in England, at least, all is not well. This article looks at the numbers and they don’t […]