30 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Md. Hasanuzzaman Himel As drought spreads across half of England, the National Farmers’ Union has called for changes to abstraction rules and planning to protect food production. Low river flows have driven 1,506 restrictions on abstraction licences, and high irrigation demand is rapidly depleting farm reservoirs, leaving the union warning that growers […]
30 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Ivan Bandura Among the winners of Ofwat’s latest innovation competition is a technology that cleans wastewater using water fleas. Daphne Water Solutions, a University of Birmingham spin-out, is one of 20 finalists in the £7.5 million Water Discovery Challenge, each awarded up to £100,000 in seed funding and mentoring to test their […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: redcharlie Europe’s current drought is being shaped by a compound of rainfall deficits and a much warmer, thirstier atmosphere, according to a rapid attribution study published today by World Weather Attribution (WWA). Analysing conditions from January to June 2026 across a western European domain and an eastern one, scientists from 13 countries found that […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Matt Clark Up to 25 tonnes of plastic pellets have entered the River Tyne after the Wind Orca collided with the berthed container ship BG Orange at the Port of Tyne on Sunday 19 July. The environmental charity Fidra estimates the release at approximately one billion nurdles. According to the Port of Tyne, the Wind […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Daniele Levis Pelusi The Environment Agency has confirmed that it is bringing criminal proceedings against Southern Water Services Limited, four former employees and three further individuals, following an Administrative Court judgment on 22 July that upheld the Agency’s power to prosecute for offences connected to its regulatory functions. The four former staff, including former chief executive […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Luis Tosta The consortium of creditors that has effectively controlled Thames Water since its shareholders wrote down their investment in 2024 has put forward a revised rescue proposal aimed at averting nationalisation by the new Andy Burnham administration. Under the plan, ministers would be offered a golden share in the company, described by the […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Zoe Richardson Business customers in England and Wales have been forced to escalate a third more complaints about their water retailers than a year earlier, according to the Consumer Council for Water’s 2025-26 Business Customer Complaints reportpublished on 21 July. The number of disputes reaching CCW rose from 1,966 to 2,562 over the […]
23 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Galina Kondratenko Thames Water’s Temporary Use Ban came into force at 00:01 on Thursday 23 July, taking the number of people affected by hosepipe restrictions across England and Wales to about 23 million, according to the Guardian. The ban applies across Thames Water’s entire drinking water supply area, covering roughly 10 million customers […]
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