30 Jan 2024
The Guardian reports that eighty-three per cent of English rivers contain evidence of high pollution caused by sewage and agricultural waste, according to the largest citizen science water testing project ever to take place in the UK. Hundreds of anglers took part in the study, organised by the Angling Trust, after being angered by the […]
29 Nov 2023
A new campaign group, whose founders include the environmental activist and columnist George Monbiot, is taking the UK government to court over its failure to properly regulate the use of sewage sludge, which is used as fertiliser on farmland. The campaign is underpinned by the details of a once-secret Environment Agency report, obtained by an […]
25 Oct 2023
The High Court in Cardiff last week agreed River Action’s challenge of the Environment Agency’s handling of agricultural pollution in the River Wye can proceed to court. River Action argued that by failing to prevent the spread of excessive levels of manure across agricultural land in the Wye river catchment, where high phosphorus levels in […]
19 Jul 2023
The Guardian reports that a loophole in the UK’s pollution legislation allows farmers to pollute rivers by spreading excess manure, an investigation has found, with those acting unlawfully not facing any action in most cases. The government introduced new farming rules for water in 2018, aimed at cleaning up England’s waterways. However, after lobbying from […]
01 Feb 2023
Covered in the Guardian Farmers will be eligible for funding for up to 280 actions that protect environment under new system Guardian comment: New farm subsidies regime could be great for nature – if properly funded Farmers in England will be able to receive government funding for up to 280 different actions that protect the […]
22 Dec 2022
Defra published an unchanged set of final water targets to be delivered under the Environment Act 2021 from those consulted on at the start of the year. The final water targets are: Water demand: Reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% from the 2019/20 baseline reporting year […]
13 Oct 2022
The Wildlife Trusts are concerned to learn that regulation changes could see more manure being spread on our land due to a 3 month delay on a crucial piece of legislation. The Wildlife Trusts said that ‘We already know that agriculture pollution is more significant in the pollution of our rivers than sewerage. The Water Resources […]
13 Apr 2022
Environment Agency research and analysis on water quality looks at what 3 future environmental land management schemes can achieve by 2027 The Environment Agency has estimated the pollution reductions from voluntary land management and land use change until 2027. The following future environmental land management schemes are one group of a wider set of schemes […]
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