Watchdog to investigate whether Government failed to comply with key water laws
Move by Office for Environmental Protection follows its report last year finding targets to clean up water bodies were likely to be missed.
The environmental watchdog has launched an investigation into whether the Government has failed to comply with key laws on water quality.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) launched the investigation into the Environment Department (Defra) and Environment Agency, following a report last year which found most rivers, lakes and coasts were likely to remain in a poor state in the years ahead.
It is the latest move by the watchdog to address England’s poor water quality, amid widespread public anger over the state of the country’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters.
The report in May 2024 found the Government and Environment Agency were off-track to meet targets for 77% of England’s water bodies to reach good condition by 2027.
In a worst-case assessment, just 21% of England’s surface waters would be in a good ecological state, which measures the health of aquatic plants, fish and insects, by 2027, up only marginally from the 16% in good condition today, it said.
It warned laws known as the “water framework directive” were not being effectively implemented and investment was falling billions of pounds short.
Defra has broadly accepted the findings of the report, but the OEP said the response from Government did not provide “direct assurances” the issues identified would be addressed in a timely manner.
The follow-up investigation will look at whether the issues raised in the report represent a failure to comply with environmental law, the watchdog said.
Helen Venn, the OEP’s chief regulatory officer, said: “We recognise and welcome that much is being done on the issue of water quality at this time, with cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas being one of Defra’s five core priorities.”
She said the watchdog was working with the Independent Water Commission which would be looking at aspects of the laws, and was waiting for the outcome of a legal appeal on the correct interpretation of the regulations.
“Our aim is for this investigation to be a valuable part of that bigger picture, informing any reforms, changes and actions through clarifying what is required of Government and the Environment Agency under the current regulations, so any issues are not carried forward.
“But we also believe that more urgent actions may be needed.
“We are concerned that there is an indication of potential failures to comply with environmental laws which are having ongoing negative consequences for water bodies, and this is why the important targets for water quality are highly likely to be missed,” she said.
She also said that, even with all the activities taking place on water, “none involve firm commitments to address the issues we have identified, and the timeline and extent of any resulting changes are currently uncertain”.
Last year’s report warned improvement plans for river networks, known as river basin management plans, were “too generic” and did not focus on specific locations, while gaps in the tools and resources being deployed mean they are not delivering on the goals.
There is slow progress in areas such as delivering the new environmental land management scheme (Elms), which will pay farmers to manage land for public goods such as water quality, the report said.
And it warned there is a lack of governance in delivering the river basin management plans, and gaps in monitoring.
The report called for the Environment Secretary and EA to take urgent action to bring in additional, specific, and time-bound measures, with sufficient and confirmed funding to achieve the improvement in water bodies.
The report warned that pollution is the biggest issue damaging the ecological health of England’s waters, from agriculture and wastewater treatment discharges, while runoff from urban areas and roads, invasive species, and structures such as weirs are also a problem.
While much of the focus has been on sewage overflows, it is comparatively small, though still important part of the problem, the report said.
A Defra spokesperson said the Government was “determined” to clean up polluted rivers, lakes and seas, pointing to moves including new powers to ban bonuses for polluting water bosses, and bringing criminal charges against lawbreakers.
“We have also launched an Independent Water Commission, which is looking at widespread water sector reform, including the effectiveness of the water framework directive.
“We welcome the OEP’s support for the commission and share their commitment to improve water quality.
“We will work constructively with them on this investigation.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Our teams are working hard to deliver improvements to our rivers, lakes, coasts and groundwaters up and down the country.
“We welcome the OEP’s investigation and will work constructively with them as it progresses.
“We continue to support the Government’s commitment to accelerating progress on improving the water environment, as well as the work of the Independent Water Commission who are looking at improvements to the water sector and strategic water planning.”
