03 Sep 2026
Image description: Aerial view of a sewage works. Photo by Patrick Federi on Unsplash New analysis from Friends of the Earth suggests South West Water has the worst environmental footprint of any water company England, as the campaigning organisation calls on the government to put forward a “meaningful plan for restoring the health of […]
03 Sep 2026
Image description: Sewage pipe contained between rocks pouring out into a river. Photo by Jacob Vathikulam on Unsplash In a fresh exclusive, the Guardian reports that the number of suspected illegal discharges of raw sewage into rivers and seas during dry weather has risen sharply in 2026. Freedom of information requests submitted by Robert Forrester, […]
03 Sep 2026
Image description: A hand wearing a blue glove holding a test tube after sampling water from the river for analysis. The Guardian has exclusively revealed that Thames Water’s pilot tests for its proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) scheme produced levels of a toxic “forever chemical” at up to 13 times the legal limit, […]
27 Aug 2026
Image description: Blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) in the canal network in Bruges, Belgium Image credit: P Mantha on Unsplash Blue-green algae blooms causing mass disruption Successive heatwaves across the UK this summer have triggered a wave of blue-green algae blooms in rivers, lakes and coastal waters, causing widespread disruption to swimmers and raising deeper concerns […]
13 Aug 2026
Image description: Hands wearing blue plastic gloves taking a water sample from a pond using a pipette and brown glass sampling bottle. New data published by EA paints a ‘very concerning’ picture for England’s waterways The Environment Agency’s (EA) latest data, published 6 August 2026, showed that just 14% of England’s rivers, lakes, estuaries […]
16 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Anthony de Sigley – Own work, Public Domain Southern Water has pleaded guilty to two environmental permit breaches after a dark plume of pollution entered the River Test in Hampshire. The company admitted the charges at Medway Magistrates Court on 14 July, with two further charges to be taken into consideration. Sentencing will follow at […]
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 […]
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 […]
