Three-quarters of British rivers are in poor ecological health, a new survey has found.
Rivers in the Anglian and Thames regions of England were found to be among those in the worst state, with 89% failing to meet tests for good ecological health in those areas, according to the survey.
“The picture around London and the Thames river basin is particularly dire,” said Dr Sasha Woods, director of science and policy at Earthwatch Europe, the charity.
The research was carried out between 7 – 10 June with over 2.600 people across the UK, on behalf of Earthwatch Europe, measuring the water quality of their local waterways.
The survey found that rivers in the Solway Tweed and North West had the best health with just 50% showing unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution.
Subscribe to Sustainability Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest sustainability news sent straight to your inbox everyday
Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire had the worst water quality, with 91% and 89% of rivers respectively showing unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution.
Woods added: “These results are truly disturbing – there are no parts of the UK unaffected by nutrient pollution … our rivers have been historically stressed by farming, and we’re seeing this being made worse by inappropriate or limited sewage treatment.
“There is a pressing need for both improvements to wastewater treatment processes and reductions in agricultural pollution to reduce threats to vulnerable freshwater systems. The government has committed to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030 – that will be meaningless if the rivers and streams running through the land, the arteries of life, are diseased.”
Earlier this month, Greenpeace said the watchdog for England’s waterways is “practically defunct” following an investigation which found it had been late to around three-quarters of the most serious pollution incidents.
