Days after floods hit, further heavy rain likely to cause travel delays and flooding from late Sunday afternoon
Weather warnings have been issued as strong winds and heavy rain approach the UK, days after some areas were hit by flooding.
The Met Office issued a yellow rain warning – meaning further heavy rain is likely to cause some travel delays and flooding – covering much of southern England and south Wales between 4pm on Sunday and 9am on Monday.
Continue reading...Transport disrupted and more than 60 flood warnings still in place, with more downpours to come
The Met Office has issued a weather warning for strong winds on Sunday as parts of the country recovered from heavy rain and flooding. Flooding disrupted rail services in England and Wales on Friday morning and led to the closure of the M5 motorway in both directions in Gloucestershire.
The Environment Agency told drivers their cars could be swept away in as little as 30cm (12in) of water as more than 60 flood warnings were issued in England after heavy rain overnight, with further downpours to come.
Continue reading...Environmental charity fears ‘the aquatic ecosystem will have been devastated or lost’ after chemical spill last week
About 90kg (200lbs) of dead fish have been removed from a canal after a sodium cyanide leak in Walsall that experts fear could have “devastated the aquatic ecosystem” in the area.
A 1km stretch of the waterway remains closed to the public after the chemical spill from a metal finishing company, Anochrome. The spill was declared a major incident last week.
Continue reading...The penalties reflect the failings of the Environment Agency and Ofwat as much as the water companies
Behind the record fines announced by Ofwat for the routine dumping of sewage into rivers and seas by three water companies, there is a voiceless victim, one that does not sit in boardrooms, or get a chance to count dividends. It is our rivers and coastal waters, subjected to years of continuous pollution under the noses of the regulators, which are suffering.
In all likelihood the £168m penalties for the already struggling Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water will be followed by fines for the remaining eight water and sewerage companies, all of whom Ofwat is investigating over failure to treat sewage according to the law.
Continue reading...Campaigners warn of same ‘tragic events’ as in River Wye if planners ignore pollution risks of intensive production
The chicken industry is facing calls to halt the expansion of intensive production in the River Severn catchment, with campaigners warning that the river is at risk from the same pollution that has blighted the River Wye.
An outcry over the ecological plight of the Wye has effectively halted the proliferation of intensive poultry units across the catchment. Campaigners say that the pollution threat is being transported “from one catchment to the other”.
Continue reading...Water companies have logged five sewage spills a day, every day, for a decade, analysis by the Observer shows
Water companies in England and Wales have averaged five serious sewage spills into rivers or seas every day over the past decade, the Observer can reveal.
Analysis of Environment Agency data has found that the 10 firms recorded 19,484 category 1-3 pollution incidents between 2013 and 2022, the most recent year recorded, an average of one every four and a half hours.
Continue reading...Speaking at the UK River Summit, Philip Duffy said officials do not want to reveal the true ‘embarrassing’ environmental picture
The head of the Environment Agency has admitted that freedom of information requests have been buried by the regulator because the truth about the environment in England is “embarrassing”.
Philip Duffy, the body’s chief executive, told an audience at the UK River Summit in Morden, south London, this week that his officials were “worried about revealing the true state of what is going on” with regards to the state of the environment.
Continue reading...Environment secretary opposed waste plant plans that must be approved by body he oversees
The environment secretary has refused to say whether he abused his position when he tried to stop an incinerator being built in his constituency.
But Steve Barclay apologised for not properly declaring his interest and recusing himself, when questioned about it on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiative
Thames Water has risked a fresh backlash over its commitment to tackling sewage dumping after it declined to commit funds to a £180m industry-wide initiative to fast-track efforts to reduce pollution in England’s waterways.
The government said on Monday that the sum would be spent by six companies over the next 12 months to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills, as water companies attempt to address their woeful record on tackling spills.
However, Britain’s biggest water company, which has a £14bn debt mountain, has not taken part in the drive and it is understood that government officials are disappointed in its refusal to do so.
Continue reading...Charity blames the decline of invertebrates on farming, sewage and run-off from roads and homes, months after the Environment Agency told them the water in Wiltshire river was clean
A citizen science programme has revealed the decline of one of the country’s most significant chalk streams after claims by Environment Agency officials that it had not deteriorated. The SmartRivers programme run by the charity WildFish, which surveys freshwater invertebrates, reported “strong declines in relation to chemical pressure” on the River Avon in Wiltshire. It said its data indicated a decline in the condition of the river over the last five years.
The charity compiled a report on its findings after the conservation groups say they were told at a meeting by the Environment Agency in August that “the Avon has not deteriorated in water quality in the last five years”. David Holroyd, head of water quality for Wiltshire Fishery Association, said the numbers of invertebrates collected in spring and autumn samples from 2019 and 2023 at 11 sites on the upper Avon had shown a decline.
Continue reading...Campaigners argue in legal challenge that loophole has allowed poultry farmers to pollute river
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The Environment Agency and the UK government failed to protect the River Wye from catastrophic decline by allowing pollution from industrial chicken farming to saturate the land and devastate the protected river, a legal challenge is to argue.
Continue reading...Train operators say services face delays and cancellations after rain and strong winds batter UK
More than 300 flood warnings are in place across England as travellers face transport delays, with train services struggling to get back on track after rain and strong winds from Storm Henk lashed large parts of the UK.
The Environment Agency said on Wednesday there were 368 active alerts in England for possible flooding, 322 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected and, in Northampton, one danger-to-life severe flood warning.
Continue reading...Quarter of new flood defence projects will also not go ahead, NAO finds, as Environment Agency blames cuts on inflation
The number of properties that will be better protected from flooding by 2027 has been cut by 40%, and 500 of 2,000 new flood defence projects have been abandoned, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
The number of homes forecast to be under enhanced flood protection by 2027 has been slashed from 336,000 to 200,000. This means 136,000 more homes will be at risk of flooding since plans were drawn up in 2020, figures from an NAO report show.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Hundreds of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ defences are in areas battered by Storm Babet, according to analysis by Unearthed
More than 4,000 of England’s vital flood defences are so damaged they are almost useless, including hundreds in areas battered by Storm Babet.
Nearly 800 critical assets – defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property – were in a “poor” or “very poor” condition in the 10 English counties worst affected by last week’s historic downpours.
Continue reading...Derbyshire and South Yorkshire MPs say agency ‘not up to the task’ after people received warnings too late
MPs in areas of England worst hit by Storm Babet have called for a review of Environment Agency (EA) failings after reporting that some residents received flood alerts only after their homes were flooded.
Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, said some people at Tapton Terrace in the Derbyshire town, where 83-year-old Maureen Gilbert was found dead in flood water, only received a phone call from the early warning system after their houses had been deluged.
Continue reading...Warnings from both the Met Office and the Environment Agency come as storm continues to batter the UK
In North Wales, a sheepdog named Patsy rescued three ewes which had been cut off by floodwater on Friday afternoon.
Farmer Llyr Derwydd, 44, went to check on his sheep in Flintshire when he saw the sheep “stranded on this little spot on the field”.
So we thought we’d better get them off and make sure they’re safe.
I just thought, ‘I’ll see if the dog will go’. I gave her the command and she swam across.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Assessment that used to happen annually will now take six years despite rising concerns
Continue reading...Company breached three-year rolling limit on abstraction licence at Fylde aquifer in 2018
United Utilities has been fined £800,000 after illegally abstracting 22bn litres of water in Lancashire, causing damage to an important aquifer that will take years to recover.
The illegal removal of water from the Fylde aquifer, which happened during a period of dry weather in 2018, is likely to have negatively affected river flows.
Continue reading...Observer investigation reveals the shocking state of the country’s protected freshwater sites of special scientific interest
More than 90% of freshwater habitats on England’s most precious rivers are in unfavourable condition, blighted by farming pollution, raw sewage and water abstraction, an Observer investigation reveals.
None of the approximately 40 rivers with protected habitats in England are in overall good health, according to an analysis of government inspection reports. These include the River Avon in Hampshire, the Wensum in Norfolk and the Eden in Cumbria.
Continue reading...Class action legal claim on behalf of 20 million householders in England and Wales could top £800m in compensation
The public could receive hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation in the first class action against water companies which are alleged to have failed to reveal the true scale of raw sewage discharges, and abused their position as privatised monopolies.
A collective case against six water companies alleges they have failed to properly report sewage spills and pollution of rivers and seas to the Environment Agency and Ofwat, the regulator for England and Wales. The first of six parallel claims is against Severn Trent Water on behalf of its 8 million customers. Claims against Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water are being brought in the coming months.
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