09 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Steve Payne More than half a million people, nationally important infrastructure and the UK’s largest port complex face increasing tidal flood risk across the Humber unless a long-term, estuary-wide approach to adaptation is delivered. Understanding Tidal Risk, published on 7 July, is the shared evidence base of the Humber 2100+ partnership, which […]
09 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Ted Balmer Water companies that break environmental rules now face faster financial penalties of up to £500,000, under changes that strengthen the Environment Agency’s enforcement powers. The reforms let the regulator use the lower civil standard of proof for minor and moderate offending, rather than the criminal standard that previously made many […]
02 Jul 2026
Photo description: hay bales laid in rows on a field. Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash Scale of the problem Agriculture remains the single largest source of water pollution in England, adversely affecting around 40% of water bodies nationally and contributing approximately 60% of nitrogen and 28% of phosphorus in rivers in England and Wales. The Environment […]
18 Jun 2026
Image description: The River Thames flowing beneath Tower Bridge. Photo by Pietro De Grandi on Unsplash Researchers at the University of East London (UEL) have launched a study into microplastic pollution in the River Thames to inform environmental policy and water quality decisions. Led by Dr Ria Devereux of UEL’s Sustainability Research Institute, the […]
09 Jun 2026
Photo by Lison Zhao The Environment Agency issued pollution alerts at four Isle of Wight beaches following a sewage release by Southern Water, with bathers warned to stay out of the water at Totland Bay and Colwell Bay on the island’s west coast. Similar warnings were also in place at Gurnard Bay and Ryde. Southern Water attributed […]
05 May 2026
Photo by Bob Brewer Southern Water has pleaded guilty to five pollution offences in north Kent, including discharges of untreated sewage into coastal waters that occurred just weeks after the company was handed what was then the largest criminal fine ever imposed on a water company. The Environment Agency confirmed on 27 April that […]
30 Apr 2026
Image description: Hand water pump pouring out water. Photo by Jainath Ponnala on Unsplash South East Water has lost an appeal against a fine of £76,000 for extracting water from an underground source without the necessary permission from the Environment Agency (EA). For six weeks between May and June 2021, the company illegally took […]
23 Apr 2026
Photo by Martin King on Unsplash United Utilities and the Environment Agency (EA) are going to place two monitoring buoys into Lake Windermere in Cumbria next week, as part of a year-long study to continuously assess the body of water. United Utilities has said the trial would help it and the Environment Agency (EA) […]
