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Only one in seven of England’s rivers, lakes and estuaries meet standards for water quality, wildlife and other metrics, according to government figures that have reinforced concerns that the country’s waters are among the “filthiest in Europe”.
The Environment Agency watchdog said on Thursday that 14.3 per cent of England’s surface waters had been ranked as having a “good ecological status” under standards set out under the Water Framework Directive Regulations.
“The results show that too many water bodies are still not achieving the standards we want to see,” said Alan Lovell, chair of the EA.
In recent years, the routine discharge of sewage into rivers and other bodies of water has been widely criticised, with growing calls for the government and the EA to step up action and for water companies to be renationalised. Waterways can also be polluted by the likes of run-off from agricultural, commercial or urban settings.
The EA data shows that 65.4 per cent of waters examined were ranked as moderate, while more than 20 per cent were poor or bad. Just 0.1 per cent were ranked as high. The waters were assessed against various standards taking into account wildlife, water quality and physical habitat.
James Wallace, chief executive of River Action, an environmental charity, said despite successive governments making promises to clean up Britain’s waters, “nothing has changed”.
“Our rivers remain among the filthiest in Europe, poisoned by sewage from polluting, profit-driven water companies and by industrial-scale agriculture,” he said.
About 40 per cent of EU surface waters are ranked as good or high.
The latest findings come as half of England battles a drought, with water companies imposing hosepipe bans.
When last assessed in 2019, 16.3 per cent of surface waters in England were ranked as good, although the EA said the figures were not directly comparable because it had since updated its methods and was using a wider set of monitoring data and focusing on places where problems were likely.
Jess Neumann, associate professor of hydrology at the University of Reading, said it was “concerning” that the latest numbers suggested “no significant improvement in water quality since 2019” for many areas, despite increased enforcement from the EA, strong campaigning from groups and investment by water companies.
“It shows that restoring the health of rivers, lakes and coastal waters remains a major national challenge and one which we are not yet making headway with,” she said.
The agency said about a third of water bodies failed to be ranked as good because of just one issue, pointing to the River Foss as an example. It said the Yorkshire tributary ranked good on every ecological indicator except for phosphate, for which it scored moderate.
Tessa Wardley, director of communications and advocacy for The Rivers Trust, said that with 86 per cent of water bodies having “one indicator that was failing . . . there is little chance that the overall health of the waterbody is good”.
“We still have a big problem,” she added.
EA’s Lovell said the agency now knew more “about the water environment than ever before, and the updated classifications are an important part of this picture”.
He added: “We are using all our evidence to direct sustained improvement action from water companies, farmers, businesses and councils.”
In a statement, UK environment secretary Angela Eagle said: “Our local communities deserve to have clean local rivers and lakes. These results underline the need for wholesale change across the water sector.
“We’ve already introduced landmark legislation to hold water companies to account, secured record investment to help fix infrastructure, and are laser focused on long term reforms that will prevent future failures.
“We will drive forward a system that puts the public interest first with higher standards, better performance and cleaner waterways.”
