National
press office - The Environment Agency today
called on the farming community, local authorities
and the water industry to help to do more
to tackle the pollution of bathing waters
around the coast of England and Wales. It
plans to meet relevant organisations to
address the issue of water pollution caused
by livestock manure and slurry, and sewage,
particularly during bad weather.
Defra and the Welsh
Assembly Government have today published
bathing water quality data for 2008 in which
96 per cent of bathing waters in England
and 99 per cent in Wales passed mandatory
quality standards. In England, 65.7 per
cent of waters, and 77 per cent in Wales,
passed the stricter ‘guideline’ standard.
Many locations this
year were affected by extended periods of
heavy rainfall during the summer, resulting
in pollution caused by surface water runoff
from farmland and urban areas, along with
the more frequent operation of combined
sewer overflows discharging into the sea.
The Environment Agency is calling for more
action to prevent the pollution of bathing
water, particularly in light of a likely
increase in the severity and frequency of
heavy rainfall events due to climate change.
Initial investigations
by the Environment Agency suggest that pollution
from livestock manure and slurry was a factor
at 16 of the 17 waters that failed to achieve
mandatory status. The Environment Agency
is already working with the farming community
to help tackle this issue by offering advice
on protecting soils to prevent run off through
its ‘Best Farming Practices’ programme and
‘thinksoils’ manual. It also welcomes the
extension of the England Catchment Sensitive
Farming delivery initiative, which aims
to help farmers reduce water pollution from
agricultural land.
Investigations also
suggest that pollution from overflowing
drains and sewers was a factor at 13 of
the 17 locations that failed to achieve
mandatory status.
The Environment Agency
called on water companies in England and
Wales last month to invest more in maintenance
to help reduce the risk of pollution incidents
as part of water regulator Ofwat’s review
of the companies’ business plans for 2010-2015.
This will build on the £2 billion
investment by the industry in bathing water
quality improvements over the past two decades.
Paul Leinster, Chief
Executive of the Environment Agency, said:
“Bathing water quality around the coast
of England and Wales has improved dramatically
over the past 20 years, but we cannot afford
to be complacent. Changing weather conditions
are presenting new challenges and we will
continue to work closely with the farming
community, local authorities and the water
industry to tackle the sources of water
pollution.”
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Environment Agency issues
formal warning to building materials company
Paul Gainey - 7-Nov-2008
- The Environment Agency has taken action
this week against Hanson Aggregates following
dust problems from its site in Cheddar earlier
this year.
On June 9 this year
a number of local residents complained about
dust coming from the site, which produces
lime and limestone products for the construction
industry and other industries.
The Environment Agency
has now completed a thorough investigation
of the incident, which confirms that the
company was in breach of its Environmental
Permit. The company has been issued with
a formal warning and the Environment Agency
are working with the company to ensure that
further improvements are made on site.
Some local people expressed
concerns about the impact of the dust on
their health. Analysis of the dust collected
in Cheddar and a report from the Health
Protection Agency were reviewed and from
this it is concluded that the incident was
unlikely to have caused any adverse effect
on public health.
‘We are determined to
ensure Hanson Aggregates improve the conditions
for local residents and the environment.
We will continue our monitoring and regular
checks of the site to ensure the site is
meeting its permit conditions,’ said Colin
Babb for the Environment Agency.
Anyone who continues
to suffer from dust problems from the site
should report them to the Environment Agency
on its free 24 hour hotline 0800 80 70 60.
