17 Apr 2024
Flooded farms in England refused compensation as ‘too far’ from river
From The Guardian Farmers who have their entire cropping land submerged underwater have found they are ineligible for a government flooding hardship fund – because their farms are too far from a major river. According to the Met Office, 1,695.9mm of rain fell from October 2022 to March 2024, the highest amount for any 18-month […]
17 Apr 2024
Record number of river barriers removed across Europe in 2023
Europe removed a record number of dams and other barriers from its rivers in 2023, a report has found, helping to restore its disturbed waterways to their natural states. Nearly 500 barriers were taken out of European rivers last year, according to figures compiled by Dam Removal Europe, an increase of 50% from the year before. France led […]
10 Apr 2024
Tenth consecutive monthly heat record alarms and confounds climate scientists
According to data released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, global surface temperatures in March were 0.1C higher than the previous record for the month, set in 2016, and 1.68C higher than the pre-industrial average. This is the 10th consecutive monthly record in a warming phase that has shattered all previous records. Over the past […]
10 Apr 2024
Up to £11m in water company fines to be reinvested
Up to £11 million in water company fines and penalties will be reinvested back into a new Water Restoration Fund (WRF), Environment Secretary Steve Barclay announced this week. All water company environmental fines and penalties since April 2022 have been ringfenced to directly improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund will offer grant funding […]
10 Apr 2024
Third of water industry workers abused by public
According to a survey of almost 1,300 staff conducted by the GMB union with the results reported in the Guardian, more than one in three UK water employees have been verbally abused at work. The results show that Workers complained that they had faced “very hostile” abuse from the public One employee said they had […]
10 Apr 2024
Water now a major risk for world’s supply chains
The water crisis threatens global supply chains as never before, according to new research from CDP, the global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system. The findings come from the most extensive ever analysis on how companies are responding to water security, based on record-high disclosure numbers. The report focuses on 3,163 large companies with […]
10 Apr 2024
Which way will water flow?
Interesting think piece from The Mint Magazine, covering water industry performance since privatisation, levels of debt and investment, and options for reforming the sector under a new government. The case for renationalisation Another article from Labour Peer Prem Sikka and published in Left Foot Forward argues the case for renationalisation Let Thames Water go bust: […]