13 Feb 2025
The European Commission is publishing its latest reports on the state of water in the European Union. Covering the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the Floods Directive, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the reports highlight the progress made to improve the state of EU water bodies over the past six years. They also identify key areas […]
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 […]
19 Apr 2016
Environment Agency: This guidance explains how to assess the risk of an activity and decide whether it supports the objectives of your local River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) or meets sustainability criteria. You need to show The Environment Agency that your activity supports the objectives of your local River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) or meets […]
22 Feb 2016
The next round of RBDP’s have been produced but already prompted criticism: Sewage outfalls and water quality Snails pace of water quality improvement condemned by WWF Environment Agency/Defra These are the current river basin district (RBD) RBMPs. A RBD covers an entire river system, including river, lake, groundwater, estuarine and coastal water bodies. The RBD […]
30 Sep 2015
Water Availability and Quality Programme, Defra ‘We are writing to inform you that Defra has earlier this week, issued The Water Framework Directive (Standards and Classification) Directions (England and Wales) 2015 to the Environment Agency. These Directions have been published as an associated document of the Water Environment (WFD) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, SI […]