03 Dec 2024
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has launched an investigation into the government’s Statutory Guidance on applying the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW). These regulations aim to reduce and prevent water pollution from agriculture by requiring farmers to plan the application of organic manure and manufactured fertiliser so that it does not exceed the needs […]
03 Dec 2024
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published the estimates of the financial and societal value of natural resources to people in the UK. Key figures include that the total asset value of ecosystem services in the UK was around £1.8 trillion in 2022, an increase of 11% since 2018 and that health benefits from […]
27 Nov 2024
As the clean-up continues in areas hit by Storm Bert, forecasters, environment officials and politicians have been strongly criticised over the warnings issued before the storm and the fitness of flood defences to cope with increasingly common extreme weather (The Guardian). Photo credit: Ray Bilcliff The Environment Agency said that lessons learned from […]
27 Nov 2024
COP29 ended with a deal in which rich countries promised to raise $300bn a year by 2035 tripling climate finance support for developing countries. However, many poorer countries were left outraged by the deal, and the financial settlement also fails to consider the effect of inflation. Photo credit: Markus Spiske The UK government […]
27 Nov 2024
Defra has published bathing water results showing that 92% of English bathing waters meet water quality standards. The number of monitored bathing waters in England rated as poor and unfit for swimming has more than doubled, from 18 to 37. Out of the 450 sites regularly tested this summer for bacteria related to sewage discharges, […]
27 Nov 2024
The Environment Agency has published the outputs of a project exploring new approaches for examining the impact of droughts on English catchments and water supply systems, with the aim of increasing preparedness and understanding the range of interventions to take in different droughts. Photo credit: Tom Fisk Background This project explored new approaches […]
27 Nov 2024
Ofwat, the economic regulator for English and Welsh water companies, says it had used new powers to ensure that bonuses at the three companies were paid by shareholders and bondholders – rather than through customer bills – because the payments had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”. The companies are Thames, Yorkshire, and Dŵr […]
27 Nov 2024
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has drafted information and guidance on storm overflows, in collaboration with Ofwat and the Environment Agency. This covers existing policy and legislation, and it aims to support water and sewerage companies and the regulators in managing and regulating storm overflows in England. The associated consultation is […]
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