Photo source: www.nsw.org.au
A report issued this week by the National Audit Office claims that the Environment Agency’s approach to tackling diffuse water pollution has not proved value for money and worse that the annual expenditure of £8m has had little impact.
With only 26% of rivers and lakes meeting the required water standards set out in the European Water Framework Directive there is a lot to be done to tackle this complex problem. If the European Commission does not agree a lower target the UK could be exposed to considerable financial penalties if the 2027 deadline can not be met.
Identifying diffuse pollution sources is undoubtedly difficult and does require good detective work. New technology like Envrogene’s DNA tracing service can cost effectively pinpoint the source. But with the majority of farmers considering their activity has no impact on diffuse pollution its clear there is a long way to go. A more proactive stance is needed with hard detective work up front to identify the culprits. Much more innovation and good engineering practice is needed if a real difference is to be made.
I think the Environment Agency should be putting more effort in to bringing the hand car washes to justic car wash run off is a criminal affence this is a high percentage of urban diffuse pollution through out the UK this is not a difficult thing to spot in all our car parks & supermarkets you have to get moden
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