What's Going On With River Pollution?

• Published date: 18 September 2023
• Law Firm: Thomson Snell & Passmore
• Author: Robert Trench

River pollution has been a hot topic over the past couple of weeks in the national press.

What is all the fuss about?

Currently, the EU-derived Conversation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the Regulations) protect England's most fragile river systems, such as the River Stour in Kent. According to the Rivers Trust, only 14% of rivers in England are in good ecological health and every single river fails to meet chemical standards.

Poor river health has serious consequences for aquatic life and raises human health implications. Chemicals used in agriculture, transport and the release of raw sewage by water authorities all contribute to the decline in river health. The UK currently faces a housing crisis with the Government setting targets to deliver up to 300,000 new homes each year. Whilst new homes are desperately needed, the impact of increased wastewater outputs from those new homes and surface water run-off from building sites results in further pressures on an already fragile river system.

In 2022, there were over 389,000 instances of untreated sewage discharge into UK rivers, resulting in the UK being consistently ranked as one of the worst countries in...