New environment chief vows action on 'unacceptable' river pollution

Tackling river pollution is a “top priority”, the new Environment Secretary has said - promising to push ahead with plans for criminal charges against water company bosses who fail to stop sewage being dumped in UK waterways, and a ban on multi-million pound bonuses.

Still only three weeks into his new position heading up the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), Steve Reed told ITV News Central that he’s determined to clean up the country’s rivers.

He said “Rivers like the Wye and the Severn are famously awash with toxic pollution, including raw human sewage. That is unacceptable.

“So water bosses who allow that kind of illegal sewage dumping to continue will face criminal charges.

"We will ban the payment of the multi-million pound bonuses that they’re awarding themselves.

"We’ll also ring-fence all the bill-payers’ money which is intended to fix the broken sewage infrastructure, so that it is spent on what it is intended for, and it will not be allowed to be diverted to be spent on bonuses and dividends.”

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But sewage is only part of the problem. Across the country, the Environment Agency estimates that:

• 35% of river pollution comes from sewage

• around 40% is from agriculture

• 18% is run-off from urban areas including towns, cities, and road networks

Mr Reed said his department would be working with farmers to encourage them to adopt “more sustainable and nature-friendly” methods of farming, as well as using less inorganic fertiliser.

He said they would also encourage the use of “natural barriers” to try to prevent run-off from fields ending up in rivers.

He said “Over time, we can clean up our rivers - and that is what this government intends to do".

And while they try, they will have an army of campaigners and citizen scientists across the country monitoring their progress.

The Angling Trust first launched its own Water Quality Monitoring Network in 2022, following an ITV Central investigation which revealed dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in rivers across the Midlands.

It began on the River Severn, before being rolled out nationwide - and hundreds of anglers have now signed up, regularly testing waterways up and down the country.

Similar schemes have been launched by other environmental groups too, regularly recording of phosphates, nitrates, and other toxins, far above the levels deemed safe by experts.

"People want change"

Mr Reed said “People are furious.

"If they live near a polluted river or the sea, and they can’t take their kids in there any more, they’re really angry because they remember when they were younger, they could go and paddle around in the water and kids loved it - but they’re worried that their kids will get sick. So people want change.”