The latest Environmental Performance report shows pollution by the water industry has got worse. Significant penalties have already been charged against water companies breaching their permits.

Farmers are environmental stewards and deserve financial reward from the government that best reflects the work they can do to tackle water pollution and flooding. The area-based payment system under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) paid farmers for how much agricultural land they managed, rather than for the public goods they delivered like cleaner rivers. This did not lead to greater food security or a healthy natural environment, which ought to go hand in hand.

Our sewerage system is under unprecedented pressure. In addition to climate change and a growing population, it also faces blockages from the proliferation of single-use products. These commonly-flushed items cause blockages known as ‘fatbergs’.

Surrounded by water and notoriously rainy, the UK has not historically had much cause for concern about its water supply. But climate change is bringing hotter and drier summers with less predictable rainfall and higher drought risk. This could leave us without adequate supplies of water to irrigate our crops and meet household demand. In fact, by 2050, water availability could be reduced by 10-15%, with some rivers seeing 50%-80% less water during the summer months. 

“Nutrient neutrality" requirements temporarily block businesses, farmers, and developers from new activities and building work that could lead to chemical pollution in English rivers in poor condition. This is done in an effort to protect our most precious habitats from further harmful pollution.

In the early 1990s, only 28 percent of bathing waters met the highest standards at that time. But, 93 percent now meet today’s more rigorous ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ standard, while over 98 percent meet the minimum requirement. As a result, the more than 400 bathing water sites that currently exist have been successful in helping to clean up our seas.