The UK government is on course to miss its legally binding target to restore 77% of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters to good ecological status by 2027. The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has warned that the target will be missed by a “considerable margin”.
The environmental watchdog is investigating the government and the Environment Agency over possible breaches of environmental law.
Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said the figures “underline the need for wholesale change across the water sector”.
She highlighted new legislation designed to hold water companies accountable and improve transparency around investment. “We will drive forward a system that puts the public interest first,” she said.
Public debate over England’s water quality has largely focused on sewage pollution from water companies and the discharge of wastewater into rivers.
However, campaigners and scientists say agricultural pollution is an equally significant threat to England’s waterways, despite receiving far less public attention.
Erica Popplewell, from campaign group River Action, said some farming practices—particularly intensive poultry units, which are vast sheds housing hundreds of thousands of birds—were creating growing risks for rivers including the Wye and Severn.
“There’s a lot of poo that comes out of the chickens,” she said. “If it goes straight into a river, it causes eutrophication. The whole ecology of the river is damaged, and the river is dying.” She called on the government to tackle agricultural pollution and sewage contamination “with the same urgency”.
The National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales has been approached for comment.
The Environment Agency also identified other sources of pollution affecting England’s rivers and waterways, including petrol, garden pesticides and contaminated road runoff carrying microplastics.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk