18 Jun 2026

Image description: River Lee running through Cork City. Image by Daniel Byram from Pixabay.   Ireland’s water quality remained largely unimproved in 2025, according to the EPA’s latest monitoring report. Excess nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture, wastewater discharge and runoff, continue to degrade water bodies across the country. Improvements in some rivers and lakes were offset […]

06 May 2026

Image description: an underwater seagrass meadow.   A warning from “underwater forests” New research has found that sewage and agricultural pollution in rivers is having an “alarming” impact on marine invertebrate life in Britain’s seagrass meadows. The study, carried out by Project Seagrass and Swansea University, examined 16 sites along the British coastline affected to […]

30 Apr 2026

Image description: White sheep on green pastures near a lake, taken in Loughross, County Donegal, Ireland. Photo by Brian Kelly on Unsplash   Regulations falling short despite farmer efforts Despite positive investment and efforts from farmers, key regulations designed to reduce agricultural pollution have failed to deliver meaningful improvements to water quality in Northern Ireland, […]

26 Mar 2026

Image description: Ecologically damaging Blue Green algae blooms (cyanobacteria), close up from river bank along Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland.   A High Court challenge has been launched by an eel fisherman against the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) over the Lough Neagh pollution crisis.  The judicial review his being brought against DAERA by eel fisher […]

05 Mar 2026

Image description: A landscape photo of a section of the River Thames at sunrise. Photo by Paul Macallan on Unsplash   The Environment Agency and the University of Stirling have published a new report on the links between phosphorus concentrations and ecology in English rivers. While phosphorus is an essential nutrient for the growth of […]

13 Nov 2025

Image description: Aerial shot of the Amazon river. Severe drought hit the Amazon basin, peaking from July to September. Photo by Ivars Utināns on Unsplash   A report published jointly by Size of Wales and WWF Cymru highlights the links between the Welsh food system and the destruction of tropical forests, human rights abuses, and […]

09 Oct 2025

Image description: River Wye winding through the English countryside. Image by malcolm west from Pixabay.   Thousands of residents and environmental campaigners have launched a legal claim against poultry producers over pollution in the River Wye. The claim, filed at the High Court, alleges that intensive chicken farming has caused significant environmental damage to the […]

28 Aug 2025

Image description: Manual pumping station. Image by Markus Distelrath / Pixabay   Yorkshire in drought Yorkshire went into drought in mid-June, with hosepipe bans enforced from early July. Reservoir levels continue to drop, holding just 62.9 per cent of their capacity compared to the early August average of 80.5 per cent. The picture for rivers […]