Sewage discharge into rivers in the UK has a significant impact on nutrient levels, leading to high nutrient concentrations and detrimental effects. In the UK, nutrient levels in rivers are primarily influenced by human activities, particularly agriculture and treated and untreated sewage. Key nutrients include nitrogen and phosphorus, which are essential for plant growth but
The public has paid almost £200bn to the shareholders who own key British industries since they were privatised, research reveals. The transfer of tens of billions of pounds to the owners of the privatised water, rail, bus, energy and mail services comes as families face soaring bills, polluted rivers and seas, and expensive and unreliable
The privatised water industry is rubbing its hands with glee, because reservoirs appear as assets on their books, and therefore increase the value of the companies. It might seem strange that, on an island renowned for its drizzle, we should find ourselves hit once again by water shortages, but this should not really come as
From dirty water to wildlife protections, the environmental cost of Brexit only gets higher We are outraged in the UK about the quality of our water, from sewage being dumped in lakes, rivers and seas. Indeed, we are at the bottom of the leaderboard when it comes to the cleanliness of our bathing waters.
Is the UK’s infrastructure ready for climate change, with periods of dry weather becoming more common as a result of the climate crisis? No new reservoir has been built in the UK since 1992, shortly after water companies were privatised. While there are some plans to build new reservoirs these are not expected to be
Only 1% of water companies’ actions to improve environmental performance, such as improving sewer overflows, have been inspected by the Environment Agency, the authors of the NAO report said. They also found there was no regulator responsible for proactively inspecting wastewater assets to prevent further environmental harm.
The average bill will go up 36% but how much extra billpayers will be charged depends on what part of England or Wales you live in, and which water company supplies you. The sums are below what the firms had requested but not far off. In 2023 there were over 582,000 discharges of untreated sewage into UK rivers, totalling
Healthy rivers are vital. They are a powerful ally in combating climate change, they support a wealth of biodiversity, and they benefit our physical and mental wellbeing….
The government and regulators may have broken the law by failing to stem raw sewage dumping into rivers by water companies in England, the new independent environmental watchdog has said…
Customer bills make up at least 96% of water company revenue, according to Guardian analysis of company accounts for 2023. The analysis of financial data for all 14 English water companies found the industry has paid close to 20p for every pound of revenue on servicing debt on average over the past five years…