03 Jan 2024
Defra has announced that 100% of storm overflows across the water network in England have now been fitted with Event Duration Monitors (EDMs), meeting the ambitious target set by the government to do so by the end of 2023. Event Duration Monitors increase transparency by measuring how, when and for how long a storm overflow […]
08 Nov 2023
Last week’s news included an investigation by the Guardian suggesting that the Government could abandon Water Framework Directive standards in England. Defra and the Environment Agency have said that the investigation is inaccurate, claiming that no decision to diverge from EU standards on water quality monitoring has been made and stressing a continuing commitment to […]
01 Nov 2023
An exclusive investigation by the Guardian suggests England is to diverge from EU water monitoring standards. Campaigners fear the change of approach could lead to more pollution in England’s rivers and waterways if the new measuring methods are less rigorous. While in the EU, England was covered by the water framework directive (WFD), and a […]
12 Oct 2023
An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations has highlighted how hundreds of potentially toxic road runoff outfalls are polluting England’s rivers. No regulator is monitoring the scale of impact of dangerous chemicals on wildlife or public health. Last month, National Highways reported it had assessed its discharge points and found 1,236 outfalls and soakaways […]
12 Apr 2023
Defra has announced (10 April) that four swimming spots in England are being designated as bathing waters ahead of the warmer months and will soon benefit from regular water quality monitoring. Following a two-week public consultation, Sykes Lane Bathing Beach and Whitwell Creek at Rutland Water, Firestone Bay in Plymouth, and a section of the […]
18 May 2022
Demonstrating a welcome shift in attitude from the Government on water quality, Ministers have agreed with the majority of the recommendations in the Environmental Audit Committee report, Water quality in rivers. Read the Government Response Read the Report: Water Quality in Rivers Inquiry: Water Quality in Rivers Environmental Audit Committee The Government and the water […]
13 Apr 2022
From the Guardian Water companies discharged raw sewage into English rivers 372,533 times last year, a slight reduction on the previous year. The water companies covering England released untreated sewage for a combined total of more than 2.7m hours; compared with 3.1m hours in 2020, according to data released by the Environment Agency (EA) on […]
22 Feb 2022
Welsh fishing boats to have monitoring devices. Wales has become the first nation in the UK to require all of its licensed commercial fishing boats are fitted with a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). Boats 12m or more in length were already required to have such a system in place, but an Order coming into force […]
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