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Latest in rivers

Green light for £5bn river protections
River Basin Management Plans have been approved by the Environment Secretary, setting out more than £5 billion investment to protect and enhance English waterways over the next five years. The majority of the spending will come from water companies through the Water Industry National Environment Programme as well as work by NGOs to restore river flows, peatlands and plant trees and efforts by farmers and landowners to reduce agricultural pollutions.
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Environment Agency urged to act faster on improving river basins
The Environment Agency’s draft river basin management plans for England have been accused of lacking ambition given the slow progress to date in delivering ecological improvements. Stakeholders also warned there is too much emphasis on behaviour change as way to fill supply shortfalls and said more attention must be given to the development of technologies that can reduce demand without leaning on consumer habits.
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Water sector calls for ‘urgent action’ to improve resilience
The water sector has called for reforms to regulation to enable it to meet the challenges of supplying water in the face of climate change, population growth and aging infrastructure. Water UK chief executive Christine McGourty said: “Without urgent action there is a risk future generations will simply not have enough of this precious resource to go around.”
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Ofwat chief says companies still failing to ‘get the basics right’
Water companies are still failing to “get the basics rights” when comes to customer service, according to Ofwat chief executive David Black. Speaking at the regulator’s annual non-executive director conference, Black warned that if things stay as they are, they will not be trusted to tackle other major issues like improving water quality in rivers and reducing consumption to prevent shortages.
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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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River Thames: Biodiversity recovering despite more plastic pollution
Populations of birds, eels and seals living in the River Thames have risen steadily despite increasing plastic pollution and rising temperatures. A survey by the Zoological Society London of the UK's second longest river, which was declared biologically dead in 1957, found bird and mammal populations have improved over the past 10 years, although fish populations have deteriorated in the same period.
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Southern pledges 80% cut in discharges from CSOs by 2030
Southern has pledged to reduce discharges from sewer overflows by 80% by 2030 through a combination of nature-based solutions and increased network storage. It established a taskforce this week that will work in tandem with its wider efforts to lower all pollution incidents by 80% during AMP7.
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Bevan: Funding must be restored to protect rivers
The chief executive of the Environment Agency faced questions from MPs as part of the Environmental Audit Committee's enquiry into river health in England. James Bevan blamed having his budget slashed by two thirds since 2010 for failings to properly monitor and inspect to protect waterways.
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Thames fined £4m for pollution breaches
Thames Water has been handed a £4 million fine by Aylesbury Crown Court for historic pollution incidents at a wastewater treatment works between 2016 and 2019.
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Report calls for EA to be fully funded
An environmental NGO has called for government to end its obsession with lower bills and allow the water sector to properly invest in infrastructure. The Salmon and Trout Conservation group asked government to remove obstructions that prevent the Environment Agency from monitoring polluters
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