Most English and Welsh rivers too dirty for new European standards

• Report says only 5 of 6,114 are in pristine condition• Government could be taken to court or fined
John Vidal, environment editor
The Guardian, Tuesday 22 September 2009
Only five of the 6,114 rivers in England and Wales are in pristine condition, and more than three-quarters are expected to fail new European quality standards, says the government's fullest-ever ecological assessment of water quality.
The report, by the official pollution watchdog, the Environment Agency, shows that 117 English and Welsh rivers are ranked on a par with the dirtiest rivers in eastern Europe, a further 742 are considered to be in "poor condition" and 3,654, or 60%, are in "moderate" condition.
The chemical and biological state of UK rivers, wetlands, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters has improved considerably in the last decade, but the results are highly embarrassing because the government is legally required by Europe to ensure that 95% of all British rivers are in "good" ecological condition by 2015.
Today, just 26% are in that category and at the present rate of improvement, the report says, only a further 5% will meet this target.
That would leave Britain open eventually to unlimited fines and court cases reminiscent of the 1980s, when it was repeatedly taken to court by Europe for pollution on its beaches and it acquired the tag of the "dirty man of Europe".
The government insisted that rivers in England and Wales had never been in such good condition, but an alliance of Britain's largest environmental and angling groups countered yesterday that the government was way behind improvement targets that it is legally obliged to meet. "It's terribly disappointing. Millions of pounds has been invested by the water industry but this shows just how far we have to go to tackle the problems," said Mark Avery, director of conservation at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Northumberland emerged as England's top county for river quality. Four of the "high status" rivers cascade off the Cheviot hills, running to the rivers Coquet and Tweed. The Ridlees burn, the Barrow burn, the river Till and the Linhope burn are all young, fast flowing and relatively small, full of waterfalls, pools and rippling shallows loved by salmon and sea trout. All are prone to pollution from cattle, but are far from large populations or heavy industry. The fifth pristine river, the Caletwr in north Wales, is lined with ancient oak woods and tumbles into the river Conwy.
Yesterday Anthony Carroll, who offers fishing holidays on the river Till, said the Northumbrian rivers may have avoided pollution because they mostly flowed through a series of large country estates, including that of the Duke of Northumberland. "They could be unpolluted because they have had centuries of good management. We look after our rivers in Northumberland," he said.
The 116 rivers in the worst condition mostly pass through urban and industrial areas and suffer from sewage run-off, increased flooding and greater demand for drinking water, but some rivers are heavily polluted by farming.
The combination of pollutants has contributed to a major decline in wildlife. Otters, water voles, kingfishers and more than 30 species of fish all rely on rivers.
Included in the "bad" list are stretches of many of Britain's best-known rivers including the Thames, the Medway and the Lee. Others, like the Severn, the Trent, the Tyne, the Dee in Wales and the Stour estuary have improved in the last decade following investments, mainly by water companies, but remain a long way short of being in good ecological health.
Lakes are faring no better, with only one out of 762 English and Welsh lakes considered to be of high status, and seven considered "bad". None were named by the agency but it admits nearly 70% of lakes are in line to miss the targets.
Britain signed up in 2000 to the EU Water Framework. The new ecological approach produces a much more accurate picture. So far, the government has failed to address the wider impacts of farming, housing and water extraction on rivers.
It is estimated that it could cost £9bn to get 95% of UK rivers to "good" status by 2015. If, as expected, this proves impossible, the EU allows interim targets to be set for 2015 and 2021.
Later this year the government will publish detailed maps showing exactly what they intend to do to improve water quality in 11 river catchment areas. Yesterday it listed hundreds of actions, but critics described them as "weak", saying the vast majority were long standing commitments which government and local authorities had already failed to implement.
Although water companies have invested several billion pounds into improving river quality in the last decade, the government has progressively reduced spending on pollution and has been reluctant to impose more regulations on farmers.
Tom Le Quesne, WWF freshwater policy adviser, said: "Unless we take action now to stop the decline in the health of our rivers then we are storing up a raft of problems for the future. We are heavily reliant on this precious resource and our legislation and actions must deliver a positive improvement to its state."
Yesterday the Environment Agency insisted that seven out of 10 English rivers and nine out of 10 Welsh rivers achieved 'very good' or 'good' status in terms of chemical and biological water quality in 2008, and that water quality had improved for the 19th year in a row.
Dr Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: "Our rivers are at their cleanest for over a century. But we need to go even further to meet the new EU measures. That is why we have announced plans to clean up 9,000 miles of river over the next five years."