Just 14.3% of England’s waterways, including rivers, lakes and estuaries, have achieved good ecological status, according to the latest Environment Agency (EA) figures.
The new assessment covers all 4,658 of England’s surface water bodies and is the first comprehensive national update on water quality since 2019. While 65.4% were classified as moderate, 17% were rated poor and 3.1% bad. The EA cautioned against directly comparing the latest figures with 2019, due to changes in monitoring and classification methods.
The assessment uses a “one-out, all-out” approach, meaning a water body can fail to achieve good ecological status if just one indicator falls below the required standard. Around a third of water bodies that failed did so because of a single element, while 82% of individual ecological indicators were rated good or high.
The EA identified sewage discharges, agricultural nutrients and surface water run-off from urban areas and transport among the key pressures affecting waterways. It also reported a record 10,000 inspections of water company sites, with annual farm inspections set to increase from 4,000 to 6,000 over the next three years.
However, all surface waters continue to fail the separate assessment for good chemical status, largely due to persistent pollutants including mercury, PFOS and PBDE flame retardants.
GMB Union said privatised water companies must shoulder much of the blame for the state of England’s waterways.
Gary Carter, GMB National Officer, said:
“The terrible state of England’s waterways is a badge of national shame – and privatised water companies must take a massive chunk of the blame.
“For years they’ve been allowed to pump sewage into our rivers, streams and lakes, as massive dividends and fat cat salaries take priority over repairing crumbling infrastructure.
“Water workers try to stem the tide but they are fighting with one arm tied behind their backs.
“The new regulator must be given the powers it needs to curb private water companies fouling our waterways – and workers must have a seat on the board.”
The findings highlight the scale of the challenge facing the UK’s water infrastructure – and the need for continued investment, enforcement and action to protect the environment as new development places further pressure on existing systems.
