05 Jun 2024
The Liberal Democrats have announced a massive expansion of marine protected areas and a new Blue Flag status for rivers will be included in their general election manifesto. The plan would include legally binding targets to prevent sewage overflows discharging to those sites. The Telegraph, The Times and Independent reported on the Lib Dems’ pledge […]
05 Jun 2024
A new report from the Royal Academy of Engineering (National Engineering Policy Centre) looks at the priorities for mitigating health risks from wastewater pollution. This report examines the interventions available to reduce the public health risks associated with using open waters for recreation that may be polluted with faecal organisms from human waste in sewage. […]
29 May 2024
Following a recent consultation on charge proposals for water quality permits, the Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that charges will increase significantly, especially for water companies. The proposals were covered in Water News in January. The EA has now published the outcome of the consultation, including the response summary, detailed summary of responses, list of respondents […]
29 May 2024
Interesting piece in The Guardian highlighting a multiple approach to cleaning up the Seine in time for triathlon events at this summer’s Olympic Games. Approaches include Improving the performance of wastewater facilities Modernising the sewage system in order to separate rainwater and wastewater in a more systematic way Correct misconnections to the system, in which […]
29 May 2024
The MailOnline tested water quality at 6 of England’s 27 new designated bathing spots. It revealed that 5 of them are riddled with E. coli bacteria that can cause stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea. According to the MailOnline, “one of the spots has so much of the faecal bacteria that swimmers have been told to […]
22 May 2024
Climate change is worsening floods, droughts and is reducing water quality, posing an increasing threat to our health, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) report. Fast-tracking implementation and better coordination of efforts by governments, water authorities and healthcare providers are urgently needed to prevent and reduce health impacts. The EEA report ‘Responding to […]
22 May 2024
The government has published supporting evidence for its ‘State of the water environment indicator’. The evidence summary supports the 25 Year Environment Plan and its outcome indicator framework. The headline figure is that just 16% of assessed surface waters and 79% of individual tests achieve good ecological status. In the 25 Year Environment Plan, water theme […]
14 May 2024
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 […]
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