90pc of rivers will fail new EU directive

[Mr T.]

90pc of rivers will fail new EU directive
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
(Filed: 06/10/2004)

Nine out of 10 rivers in England and Wales are likely to fail new European Union standards for ecological quality, the Government said yesterday.

This is despite almost 15 years of quality improvement since water privatisation with figures yesterday showing that 95 per cent of rivers were of good or fair chemical quality last year, compared with 43 per cent in 1990.

The reason is that the new method of assessment required under the European Commission's water framework directive includes a wider range of activities that have an adverse impact on rivers, lakes and waterways.

These include rural and urban diffuse pollution (fertilisers from the land and run-off from streets and motorways), fisheries, over-abstraction and man-made changes to banks and riverbeds.

When the Environment Agency characterised all the rivers in England and Wales according to the new criteria it found that 95 per cent of rivers, 82 per cent of lakes and water bodies and 53 per cent of ground water was "at risk" .

The directive is intended to bring all rivers in Europe up to good ecological quality by 2015.

Elliot Morley, the environment minister, said: "This is a challenge. We've made massive progress in terms of end-of-the-pipe solutions over the past decade. It is going to take another decade to get a handle on diffuse pollution. This is year zero of a new arrangement which will not be refined until 2006.

"To put these changes into some perspective; the methods used currently show us how well fish breathe and eat. The new figures will also show us how well they are able to reproduce and the quality of their habitat. They will also show us whether our watercourses contain the right balance of fish species, aquatic plants and invertebrates.

"Our understanding of environmental issues has moved on since the current monitoring system was first introduced. The bar is now being raised."

Sir John Harman, the agency's chairman, said it was not clear how many rivers would have to fail and by how much for Britain to incur fines from the EU. "We don't yet know how high the bar will be set," he said.


Environment Agency

[chrisch]

There's "our Tone" at the source of the Tyne.

"Say like, stop already, you non compliant river you. I command you I'm like PM, innit."

King Cnut
Or something like that.