New diagnosis for the long-term health of English waters planned

A new way of measuring the impact human activities have on life in English waters is being developed to ensure that all the country's waters - rivers, lakes, estuaries, groundwater and coastal waters - are protected for the future.

This new method of measurement will ultimately replace the Environment Agency's current assessment of the health of England's rivers. Their figures released today show that in terms of existing standards there has been little change since the best ever river water quality results of recent years.

The new measurements will build on the current tests that were developed in the seventies, eighties and nineties. These tests have enabled us to identify and respond to some of the biggest pollution pressures on our rivers.

In addition to the existing tests the new measurements, required under the Water Framework Directive, will look at the ecology of the whole water environment, not just rivers. They will identify the impacts from rural and urban diffuse pollution (pollution washed off from land), fisheries, over- abstraction and man made changes to the banks and beds of water courses - pressures that we need to address to ensure the long term health of our waters.

In addition the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation exercise, the results of which were released for public review last month, has started to identify the pressures that will need to be addressed if we are to meet the objectives of the Water Framework Directive by 2015. The new ways of measuring water quality will be used to verify these results and, in time, provide the basis for assessing the ecological health of our waters.

Environment Minister Elliot Morley said: “To put these changes into some sort of perspective; the methods used currently show us how well fish breathe and eat. The new figures will also show us how well they are able to reproduce and the overall quality of their habitat. They will also show whether our water courses contain the right balance of fish species, aquatic plants and invertebrates.

“Our understanding of environment issues has moved on since the current monitoring system was first introduced. I think it is fair to say the bar is now being raised. The use of increasingly sophisticated technology as well as the wide-ranging requirements of the Water Framework Directive means we are now able to make use of modern day science to better understand and address the pressures our actions have on the waters in our environment.”

(GB)