The Environment Agency has been widely criticised in the press for its failures to tackle water pollution in rivers in England following last week’s publication of data revealing that for the first time no river has achieved good chemical status and just 14% reached good ecological standard.

In 2016, 97% of rivers were judged to have good chemical status – since then the standard of tests under the EU Water Framework Directive which was introduced in 2000 have been further tightened.

The data suggest that pollution from sewage discharge by the water companies, chemicals and agriculture are having a huge impact on river quality.

A leader article in The Times newspaper on Saturday headed “The Environment Agency’s failure to clean up England’s waterways is lamentable” takes the Environment Agency, the water companies and farmers to task for the pollution.

“Much of the blame for the state of England’s waterways lies with farmers and the water companies”, the newspaper says,“The EA has failed to use its considerable powers to punish wrongdoers. Between 2014 and 2018, there was a sharp decline in enforcement activities of all types, from prosecutions to cautions.“

According to The Times, the nation’s waterways “need increased protection and fast” which must include “calling the EA to account.”

A separate article featured in the newspaper draws attention by a move by Feargal Sharkey, former lead singer with the pop group The Undertones to launch a judicial review of the way in which the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency have managed England’s rivers. In Sharkey’s view “The Environment Agency is just a completely discredited, failed organisation.”

“It is hard to disagree” and “good luck to him", The Times leader article says.

This week a long-running consultation by the Environment Agency on river basin planning will close on 24^th September – the consultation deadline was extended from the original final date of 24^th April due to the pandemic.

One of the questions the Agency has been seeking comment on is:

“What balance do you think is needed between current chemical use, investing in end-of-pipe wastewater treatment options and modifying consumer use and behaviour?

Introducing the Challenges and Choices consultation, the foreword says:

“Our climate is changing and there’s more of us than ever before. This is bringing with it some big challenges that need us to make equally big choices.”

“One of our biggest challenges is being able to invest the amount of time and money we think it will take to protect our water assets and get back all those benefits that we’ve lost. A huge gap is opening up between the outcomes we want to achieve and our ability to achieve them.”

“ At the current rate of progress it will take over 200 years to reach the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan target of at least 75% of waters to be close to their natural state.

“We urgently need to find better, faster ways to get more investment in our water environment.”

Click here to download the Challenges and Choices consultation paper.