England and Wales water bodies - 80% fail to reach good ecological standard

Paul Eccleston
Last Updated: 4:01pm BST 06/10/2008

Almost 80 per cent of water bodies in England and Wales are failing to reach good ecological standards, the latest survey has revealed.

Only 19 per cent were classed as 'good' or 'high' under a tougher EU standards scheme, 49 per cent were assessed as moderate while the rest were either 'poor' or 'bad'.Under the Environment Agency's annual General Quality Assessment (GQA) 76 per cent of English rivers, and 95 per cent of those in Wales, achieved 'very good' or 'good' status in terms of chemical water quality in 2007, up from 55 and 86 per cent respectively in 1990.
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The biological quality of rivers had also continued to improve, it was claimed, with 72 per cent of rivers in England and 87 per cent of those in Wales, achieving 'very good' or 'good' status last year, up from 55 and 79 per cent respectively in 1990.
For the last 20 years the GQA has used levels of sewage and industrial pollutants to assess water quality without looking at the health of water creatures and plant life.
But under the new EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), much more rigorous assessments will be made and for the first time will apply not only to rivers but to lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater.
The WFD will impose commons standards across all EU countries concentrating more on the ecological health of water bodies with up to 37 individual measures of water quality such as the health of river insects and plants.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) claimed the new system had for the first time revealed the true condition of rivers with almost 80 per cent of water failing to reach a decent standard.
Sarah Oppenheimer, water policy officer at the RSPB, said: "The marked difference between the old and new measures shows we have only been seeing part of the picture. The RSPB has suspected this for many years.
"I don't want to detract from the huge progress made in ridding our rivers of sewage and industrial spills during the last 20 years.
"Still, many people will find it incredible we have been judging the health of our rivers without looking at what's happening to the fish and plants that live in them.
"The new measurements offer a chance to understand and improve the health of our rivers beyond recognition."
The Environment Agency claimed that river water quality had improved for the 18th successive year and that half of the water bodies had missed out on registering a 'good' status by failing on a single indicator.
"The WFD gives us new ways of measuring the health and quality of water and improving our understanding of the water environment as well as the health of associated animals and plants," said acting chief executive Paul Leinster.
"None of the previous major improvements in water quality have been lost. The new classifications enable us to take more targeted action to improve water quality further."