The latest Water Environment (WFD) Classification results show us where water bodies are improving and where further action is needed. This data will help us direct investment and enforcement where it’s needed most to improve our waterways. More:

It’s the usual smoke & mirrors from the Environment Agency on this. The EA manipulates the data to make the current disastrous state of our rivers look better than it is by carefully choosing sampling points. I was surprised (given my knowledge of the river) to find out from the EA that the River Roding was ok & improving on most metrics. Then I found out that they have only *one* sampling point on the whole lower river & it’s conveniently located just above where the largest amount of sewage enters the river & where the river is most physically modified. How can we actually restore our rivers, rather than just pretending they are fine, without having a genuine picture of the health of the river? Even worse, tributaries like the Aldersbrook aren’t even monitored at all, despite them being important enough to warrant a permit regime with threat of jail if you touch the river without consent. I wonder if there should be a new ‘Water Framework Directive’ classification of ‘Ecologically Dead; no plans to resurrect it’ for rivers like the Aldersbrook?

So, to be clear, the new govt data shows that out of 4,658 rivers, lakes & other water bodies in England:   - 14.3% have Good Ecological Status (GES) - less than the 16% in 2019. - None pass for chemical status - no improvement in chemical status in 6 years since 2019.

However…

Utter b*llsh*t! Locals all know this kind of reporting is made to look good by carefully choosing specific sampling points that avoid the most polluted or damaged areas of our water bodies. You're basically in league with the polluting water companies by doing this! 👎👎👎

Anything to say about this?

23 years and what have you achieved - absolutely nothing !!

14.3 % you say Well woopy f*cking do. Catastrophic & shameful. The water co's have failed the population, the social contract for the necessities of life is broken. Furthermore, we know your complicity & conflicts of interests in all this. So FU 'EA', you're not fit for purpose

What are you actually do about the cause of these problems? All you seem to do is measure and report? Where are the fines for the water companies and other businesses involved in such poor water quality?

Not according to Channel 4s Dirty Business. You are complicit in people dying from toxic waters in our seas and rivers.

🤬

Massaging the data gain, are you?

Fudging the figures again. Utterly useless organisation.’

You might want to try reporting accurately instead of covering up the disastrous state of our rivers

More bullshit spouted from you, until every ceo of every water company in the UK has been imprisoned for poisoning our waterways and destroying the environments within those rivers, let alone poisoning people, nobody is going to take you seriously!

Worth flagging for planning: SuDS isn't only a flood-attenuation requirement, it's a water-quality control point too. Discharge consents rarely test that link back to WFD ecological status.

Do your job instead of manipulating the picture.

This matters most where it feeds into decisions: LLFAs and planning authorities need current WFD status to set drainage and discharge conditions that match river condition now, not last cycle's numbers.

Further action needed here on your Mained River , River Wiske

Nobody believes your water industry PR any more. I heard your chief executive talking about public/private partnerships, finance initiatives etc etc blah blah on @BBCr4today recently. Nothing much about compliance, though, because that's not really his job, is it? By design.