29 May 2024

Interesting piece in The Guardian highlighting a multiple approach to cleaning up the Seine in time for triathlon events at this summer’s Olympic Games. Approaches include Improving the performance of wastewater facilities Modernising the sewage system in order to separate rainwater and wastewater in a more systematic way Correct misconnections to the system, in which […]

29 May 2024

People’s trust in water companies risks being irreversibly damaged unless consumers witness a sustained improvement in the sector’s care of rivers and the wider environment. The warning comes from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) as it publishes its annual Water Matters survey. It reveals an unprecedented decline in household customers’ satisfaction with water companies across […]

29 May 2024

A new study from World Weather Attribution has shown that the 2023/24 storm season in UK and Ireland was made 20% heavier by climate change – and warns that it will continue to cause an increase in extreme winter storms combining strong winds and heavy rainfall. Scientists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden […]

29 May 2024

From Action Network Target: Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food, And Rural Affairs Untreated sewage was discharged into English waterways for more than 3.6 million hours in 2023. In 2022, water companies paid out £1.4 billion in dividends – even as 11 of them were fined in the same year for missing performance […]

29 May 2024

The MailOnline tested water quality at 6 of England’s 27 new designated bathing spots. It revealed that 5 of them are riddled with E. coli bacteria that can cause stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea. According to the MailOnline, “one of the spots has so much of the faecal bacteria that swimmers have been told to […]

22 May 2024

The National Infrastructure Commission has published its Infrastructure Progress Review 2024 – the Commission’s annual assessment of government progress on infrastructure strategy and delivery in priority areas. The review finds that over the last 12 months, progress has been mixed. There has been continued expansion in the reach of digital networks, and devolution deals for […]

22 May 2024

A new report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is warning that the UK Government and wider economy lack the necessary skills and capacity to deliver ambitious plans for major infrastructure over the next five years. The Committee is calling for the Government to set out how it will address these issues […]

22 May 2024

Migratory fish populations have crashed by more than 80% since 1970, new findings show. Populations are declining in all regions of the world, but it is happening fastest in South America and the Caribbean, where abundance of these species has dropped by 91% over the past 50 years. This region has the world’s largest freshwater […]