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river health

Latest in river health

EA: CEOs and boards should face prison for pollution
The Environment Agency (EA) has urged courts to impose far tougher sentences on water companies that pollute, including prison sentences for chief executives and company boards for “serious and deliberate” incidents. The call came as the agency released its annual Environmental Performance Assessment for 2021, which showed the number of serious pollution incidents rising to 62 - the higher number since 2013. EA chair Emma Howard Boyd described the findings as "shocking".
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OEP launches first investigation into sewer regulation
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has announced its first investigation will be to determine the respective responsibilities of Defra, Ofwat and the Environment Agency with regards to the monitoring and regulation of combined sewer overflows, and whether or not they have each fulfilled their regulatory duties. The body’s chief regulatory officer Helen Venn said the probe could lead enforcement activity as well as broader actions to improve legal and regulatory systems.
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UK’s second river bathing site designated in Oxford
A stretch of the River Thames in Oxford is set to become the UK's second designated inland bathing site following a successful campaign by local community groups and The Rivers Trust. The classification means Thames Water, landowners and the local council will be required to improve water quality to bring it up to the safe swimming standard within the next five years.
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OEP ‘keenly interested’ in agricultural polluters
Finding ways to tackle the diffuse pollution from agricultural runoff that causes ecological damage to waterways and their biodiversity will be a key focus for the newly constituted Office for Environmental Protection, its chair has said.
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UU proposes climate change bonus incentive
United Utilities has proposed adding a climate change-linked condition to its executive bonus scheme. It said the incentive would bring the policy in line with the company's environmental and social ambitions.
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United Utilities and Thames lay out river health ambitions
United Utilities and Thames Water have each laid out the investments they plan to make to improve the health of rivers in their regions. Thames has set itself a target of reducing the total duration of its sewage discharges by 50% by 2030, whilst United Utilities has pledged to cut the number of spills in its region by one-third by 2025.
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Anglian sets out five-point innovation plan
Anglian Water has called for stakeholder support, increased public awareness and a circular approach to treatment in a five-point innovation plan that sets out how it will tackle core challenges the company faces. Its chief executive Peter Simpson said innovation is at the heart of everything the company is doing to future-proof the East of England's water supplies for the drier decades to come.
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Anglian and Severn Trent make joint river commitments
Anglian Water and Severn Trent have set out five ways they will improve river health across their regions. These will include encouraging the public to enjoy the waterways with more designated bathing sites and working to minimise the use of combined sewer overflows.
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Ofwat calls for detailed river health action plans
Ofwat's interim chief executive David Black has written to water company bosses demanding that they publish detailed plans by the end of April setting out the specific actions they intend to take reduce harms to river water quality, including from storm overflows. He underlined that there is no regulatory reason not to act immediately.
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Russell: Don’t ‘hide behind regulation’ on CSO action
Senior Ofwat director John Russell has told water companies it is unacceptable to "hide behind regulation" or wait until the next price review before taking action to minimise impacts of combined sewer overflows on rivers. He said where there are resources and ability, companies should begin improving the monitoring and health of their assets.
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EAC calls for culture of ‘water citizenship’
Responsibility for improving water quality in rivers cannot be laid solely at the door of the water industry, the Environmental Audit Committee has said in its report following a year-long inquiry into the health of rivers in England. The committee said engagement is needed with farmers, landowners, housing developers and local authorities and called for a culture of “water citizenship” to make people better aware of the impacts of their behaviour.
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Ofwat urged to limit executive bonuses for pollution failures
After a year-long investigation, the Environmental Audit Committee's report into river health in England has urged regulators to take a firmer position on pollution incidents, saying Ofwat should consider limiting bonuses to water company executives for failing to tackle the problem. The committee’s chair Philip Dunne spoke to Utility Week about the report, which also called for licence conditions to be revised to require year-on-year reductions in pollution towards a target of zero serious incidents by 2030.
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