5. Topic action plans

This section contains topic action plans which provide an alternative presentation of the summary programme of measure.

The government set out a number of priorities and themes that river basin management plans should aim to tackle within the River Basin Planning Guidance (September 2021). Engagement with interested parties has also highlighted several other water management topics of concern.

The sections that follow summarise action plans to tackle these topics.

The topic action plans provide an alternative presentation of the summary programme of measure (that is, topic led) and should be read in conjunction with other presentations of the summary programme of measures, such as the environmental objectives presentation (section 4), sector presentation (section 5), and the mechanism document (section 6).

Some measures are duplicated within the topic action plans as they are relevant to multiple topics. This is deliberate to ensure readers who are only interested in a particular topic get relevant context if they only read parts of this section, rather than reading it in its entirety.

5.1 Integrated whole system approach

Natural processes in the environment affect how people use land and water, and vice versa. To take these interactions into account, and ensure better outcomes for people and the environment, it is helpful to consider whole systems, such as the water system, when making management decisions.

Interaction and interdependence exist between different systems, including water, nature, urban land-use, energy, agriculture, food, and waste management. For example, decisions on the management of the water environment may have implications for agriculture, and similarly, decisions on agricultural practices may have implications for the water environment.

Catchments, from source to the sea, including the wider drainage landscape, are logical units for managing the water system. However, water catchment boundaries often don’t match the boundaries (for example, those of local authorities) used to make decisions affecting other systems, such as urban land-use or agriculture management systems.

Problems emerge because of the interactions between water and other systems, including the political, social, and economic context in which they are embedded. Such problems are caused by no one party in isolation and cannot be solved by one party alone. These shared problems are best managed collaboratively. Experience from the 25 Year Environment Plan Pioneers indicates that a collaborative, systems approach can optimise planning and investment decisions across a catchment.

Nature based solutions have been shown to be very effective in delivering multiple outcomes for different systems (for example water, food/agriculture, nature, and climate). Wider implementation of nature based solutions will deliver benefits for people and wildlife.

The action plan

The Environment Agency and partners will work together to implement a more integrated, whole system approach to catchment management, including wider scale implementation of nature based solutions. This approach will build on the work of the Catchment Based Approach, to improve alignment of river basin planning, flood risk management planning, spatial planning, and implementation of local nature recovery strategies within catchments, from source to sea.

Taking a whole system approach will require improved collaborative working, such as improved governance arrangements and greater diversity of partners engaged in water management. This should drive improved inclusivity and a more equitable allocation of water outcomes across different sectors of society, supporting the ‘levelling up’ agenda.

The action plan will be developed with partners during the next few years, but an initial approach is set out below. Preparatory actions over the next few years will pave the way to more integrated systems approaches.

Short term actions (to 2027)

Preparatory actions include the following.

Water Leaders Group to act as advocates for landscape-scale restoration of natural processes within freshwater catchments and coastal waters. See River basin management plans updated 2022: record of consultation and engagement for details about the Water Leaders Group.

Water Leaders Group to develop shared guidance and case studies for integrating investment in and across catchments.

Environment Agency to work with partners to develop a strategic position and associated guidance on nature based solutions, to support activities and engagement with those working in this area.

Partners work together to ensure Local Nature Recovery Strategies become key vehicles to protect and improve water natural capital.

Environment Agency and partners take forward phase 2 of the Championing Coastal Coordination (3Cs) project. This includes the review of phase 1 pilots and developing recommendations for a national framework for future governance and joint working to improve alignment of water planning and delivery. 

Natural England, Environment Agency, Kew and Forestry Commission partnership grant scheme to establish a set of demonstration projects to develop the multi-sector funding approach to landscape-scale nature based solutions, funded through Shared Outcome Fund.

Environment Agency to work with partners on the Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change at the Landscape Scale to explore more flexible approaches to permitting, to support wider implementation of nature based solution through the water industry price review process (PR24), with farmers and land managers.

Environment Agency to work with partners to develop better approaches to share information on measures and coordinate programme of measures.

Environment Agency to explore with Defra and partners a programme of work to define, design and develop a national framework for integrated water management. As part of this:

• map catchment scale, source to sea initiatives to better integrated measures to deliver multiple complementary environmental benefits

• identify exemplar ‘demonstrator’ initiatives (such as Natural Course, OxCam Arc, Water Environment Transformation (WET) and 3Cs Project) and work with them to:

  i) showcase more effective coordination of multi-sector investment into catchment scale nature based solutions, such as natural flood management, sustainable drainage systems, nutrient stripping wetlands, wildlife corridors

  ii) demonstrate the essential elements for implementing effective governance of ‘catchment system operation’ through the alignment of investment decision-making processes and timescales

  iii) set out the key steps for how to get people and organisations to invest in protecting and improving water

  iv) develop and deliver a case study

Environment Agency to work with partners, to improve strategic national engagement for local collective action. Achieve this through better collaborative system governance, alignment, and integration from catchment to sea for multiple environmental and social outcomes and climate resilience including:

• Working with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to support reform of local flood risk management in line with the government’s Flood and coastal erosion risk management policy statement commitments. Defra has set out that future local flood risk management plans should support a catchment-based approach, considering all sources of flood risk and the potential for action across the whole of an area, upstream and downstream, by a variety of bodies

• Spatial planning and links to Local Nature Recovery Strategies will provide an opportunity to further the integration of flood and water management issues. A coherent plan-led, systems-based approach is needed to support sustainable and resilient catchments and communities into the future

• Alignment with the Land Use Framework announced in the Government’s Food Strategy and currently being developed by Defra, to be published in 2023. Defra Group is working with other Government departments, including Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), and Cabinet Office, to develop the scope of the Framework, which will set out land-use change principles to balance climate, food, and environment outcomes. It is envisaged this set of principles will guide local authorities, land managers, and others across England to move towards a more strategic use of land

Medium term actions (to 2043)

Implement the national framework for integrated approach detailed above to deliver an integrated systems based plan in each catchment. This will be a long term, integrated catchment management plan that links water, nature, spatial development systems together, drawing on water quality, water resources, nature, land use and flood risk management (subject to the outcome of Defra’s reforms to local flood risk management planning).

A network of established partnerships with sufficient technical knowledge, resource, and finance options to deliver integrated system approach plans.

Environment Agency and partners to support Defra’s policy development work to streamline and simplify the water policy and regulation landscape.

Long term actions (to 2080 and beyond)

Long term actions will be clarified following discussion with stakeholders and in light of progress with short- and medium-term actions.

5.2 Environment Act targets

The government has announced it will set long-term targets for water, waste and resources, air quality and biodiversity. This is a requirement of the Environment Act 2021. Once set, the targets are legally binding on the government. The targets do not replace or overwrite existing targets and the statutory environmental objectives in river basin management plans.

On 16 December 2022 the government announced the first suite of targets. They included targets to address pollution in the water environment, water demand and improve biodiversity. The targets will be given effect through statutory instruments.

The following targets were announced:

Water quality and availability targets:

• abandoned metal mines target: halve the length of rivers polluted by harmful metals from abandoned mines by 2038, against a baseline of around 1,500 km

• agriculture target: reduce nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sediment pollution from agriculture into the water environment by at least 40% by 2038, compared to a 2018 baseline

• wastewater target: reduce phosphorus loadings from treated waste water by 80% by 2038 against a 2020 baseline

• water demand target: reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% from the 2019 to 2020 baseline reporting year figures, by 2037 to 2038

Biodiversity on land targets:

• to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030

• to ensure that species abundance in 2042 is greater than in 2022, and at least 10% greater than 2030

• improve the Red List Index for England for species extinction risk by 2042, compared to 2022 levels.

• to restore or create in excess of 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042, compared to 2022 levels

Biodiversity in the sea target:

• 70% of the designated features in the marine protected area network to be in favourable condition by 2042, with the remaining in recovering condition

The Environment Act 2021 has already imposed an additional obligation on water companies in the form of a duty to deliver a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts on the environment and public health of discharges from storm sewage overflows (see section 5.7 on Sewage Discharges).

5.2.1 Nutrients target (agriculture) action plan

Achieving this target for nutrients and sediment will require government policies to drive changes in agricultural practices to reduce pollution. The following types of measures will be needed: 

• regulatory and incentivised voluntary land management measures 
• land use change in some cases to achieve maximum reductions in pollution
• greater nutrient use efficiency throughout the food chain
• technological improvements and developments in sustainable farming practices

Further information on measures to achieve the proposed target for agriculture are summarised in section 5.10 Agriculture.

Short term action (to 2027)

A variety of measures to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution are currently implemented through voluntary, incentivised, and regulatory policy mechanisms to reduce agricultural pollution. Current voluntary initiatives include:

• Catchment Sensitive Farming

• Championing the Farmed Environment

• Water company catchment-based schemes

• Assurance schemes which establish production standards including LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Marque and Red Tractor

• Courtauld commitment.

During this period, farmers in England will transition from the current agricultural funding support structure to 3 new environmental land management schemes: Sustainable Farming Incentive, further development of the Countryside Stewardship scheme and Landscape Recovery. The Environment Agency have published their estimate of the pollution reductions from voluntary land management and land use change until 2027.

The Environment Agency will undertake about 4,000 regulatory inspections a year to help improve compliance with environmental legislation on farms.

Medium term action (to 2038)

Achieving this target will require a high uptake of the new environmental land management schemes with measures that deliver for water. A high level of compliance with relevant environmental legislation on farms would also be needed. This would require ongoing advice and guidance, backed up by regulatory inspection, the use of new technologies to assess compliance, and enforcement where appropriate. Targeting of both voluntary and regulatory activity to highest risk areas would be needed.

Spatial targeting of initiatives that deliver land use change from agriculture to semi-natural land uses, notably habitat restoration and creation, and woodland creation, will need to be considered. Opportunity mapping will support decisions on strategic land use change for multiple environmental benefits including biodiversity, water quality and flood risk management.

In the medium term, wider sectoral changes linked to technological developments would be needed.

5.2.2 Nutrients target (waste water) action plan

This target will be achieved mainly through the installation of additional treatment at waste water treatment works. Phosphorus is removed from sewage using chemical dosing and or biological treatment. Nature based solutions can be used at the waste water treatment works.

Short term action (to 2027)

Water companies are currently undertaking a large programme of phosphorus reduction at waste water treatment works. By spring 2025, around 900 waste water treatment works, serving 15 million people, will be improved. This will reduce phosphorus levels by around 50% by 2027 against a 2020 baseline. Additional waste water treatment works will be improved after 2025.

Medium term action (to 2038)

Beyond 2027, several large waste water treatment works would need to further reduce the load of phosphorus they discharge down to the tightest technically achievable limits to achieve the proposed target. Work to increase the amount of nutrients removed from wastewater in areas impacted by nutrient neutrality would also contribute to this.

5.2.3 Water demand target action plan

Achieving the target will require reducing household per capita consumption to 122 litres per person per day, a 36.9% reduction in leakage and a 9% reduction in non-household water use by 2038. Water companies have already committed to reducing leakage by 50% by 2050 from a 2017 to 2018 baseline.

Short term action (to 2027)

The following measures will be needed:

• water companies to develop a consistent approach to address leakage on customers’ own pipes
• introduction of a mandatory water efficiency label to inform consumers and encourage the purchase of more water efficient products for both domestic and business use
• encourage local authorities to adopt the optional minimum building standard of 110 litres per person per day in all new builds where there is a clear local need, such as in water stressed areas
• develop a roadmap towards greater water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including the exploration of revised building regulations and how the development of new technologies can contribute to meeting these standards
• water companies incentivised through the price review process

Medium term action (to 2038)

The Environment Agency, government and the water industry will monitor and assess the effectiveness of planned measures. If additional interventions are needed, they could include:

• tighter building standards for new developments
• increased water reuse such as grey and rainwater harvesting

5.2.4 Abandoned metal mines target action plan

To achieve the target, up to 40 new mine water treatment schemes will be required to treat priority point sources (tunnels draining underground workings), together with many smaller interventions to tackle diffuse sources, such as run-off from surface mine wastes. These would be built and operated through the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines partnership with the Coal Authority. The interventions use mainly nature-based solutions.

Short term action (to 2027)

The following measures will be needed:

• 4 mine water treatment schemes and 12 diffuse sources interventions would be delivered by the end of 2025
• a further 4 mine water treatment schemes and 8 diffuse sources interventions will be needed by 2028
• investigations would be undertaken to improve the current understanding of rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines

Medium term action (to 2038)

• a further 36 to 40 mine water treatment schemes would need to be constructed to achieve the target

5.2.5 Biodiversity targets action plan action plan

The suite of biodiversity targets will help drive improvements to the ecological health of the water environment.

Species abundance and extinction targets

There are biodiversity targets to halt the decline and then increase species abundance and to improve the extinction risk index for rare and threatened species. These targets will drive action on species recovery and support the development of clear direction, focus and action to recover species and reverse decline. The indicator covers species for which there is sufficiently robust data in England, including but not limited to freshwater invertebrates, bats, aquatic birds and fish.

Wildlife-rich habitats target

This target will create and restore over 500,000 hectares of additional wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites. It will drive action on a wider catchment and landscape scale. The target includes wetlands, freshwater, estuarine and coastal habitats. Creating and improving wildlife-rich habitat networks and sites will help achieve the species and protected area targets.

Marine protected area target

The target for biodiversity at sea (including coastal and estuarine waters) will drive action to reduce the impact of potentially damaging activities, manage marine protected areas effectively and improve the marine protected area network’s condition.

Action to achieve the biodiversity targets:

The measures that could be used in order to achieve the biodiversity targets are summarised in section 5.4 Nature Recovery.

5.3 Climate change

The climate emergency is an urgent global challenge. It affects the water environment and river basin districts from catchment to coast through biodiversity loss, sea level rise, and increased frequency of natural hazards, such as extreme rainfall, heat waves and drought. Climate change threatens the benefits that society receives from water, such as the provision of drinking water, recreation, wellbeing, and supporting agriculture and industry.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report makes plain that the goal should be to keep climate change temperature rises as small as possible. Limiting rises to 1.5°C would reduce the risks and impacts to human health, the economy and the environment, including to water (The climate emergency: challenges for the water environment). This requires significant and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The United Kingdom government have responded by setting targets to reach net zero by 2050 (Net Zero Strategy). The government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050 is consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goal to pursue efforts towards a maximum rise of 1.5°C.

In the United Kingdom, the Climate Change Committee has shown that England faces substantial climate impacts, even with warming limited to under +2°C. Their independent assessment of United Kingdom climate risks (June 2021) concluded that climate risks have increased over the last 5 years and sets out the challenge of ensuring the United Kingdom is resilient to climate change. This helped inform the government’s Climate Change Risk Assessment 3. The government’s third National Adaptation Programme is due for publication in 2023. It will present ambitious and robust policies to tackle the increasing climate risk.

The action plan

The river basin management plans aim to facilitate immediate and necessary action to tackle the climate change and biodiversity crises through mitigation and adaptation. Healthy water-dependent habitats are essential for wildlife and provide resilience to climate change by regulating flooding, erosion, sedimentation, local climates, carbon sequestration and water quality. Implementing the programme of measures will provide multiple benefits for people, nature and the economy. Some of the short, medium and long term actions to tackle climate change are set out in the following.

Short term actions (to 2027)

Develop a more strategic approach to reducing pressures on the water environment thereby strengthening resilience to climate change including the following.

Implementing the Environment Agency’s 3rd Adaptation Report Living Better with a changing climate which sets out the risks the organisation faces from climate change and what is being done to prepare over the next 5 years. A key element of the plan is for the Environment Agency to work with others to ensure a strategic approach guides action to reduce pressures on England’s water environment, including climate change.

To strengthen the climate change approach in river basin management plans the Environment Agency is taking action to fill evidence gaps and develop better tools such as:

• developing a climate risk screening tool to check that future measures and projects can perform as intended in a changing climate. This will highlight opportunities for making climate resilient decisions on the design and implementation of river basin management plan measures

• improving river basin planning and catchment management data management tools to identify where a changing climate is impacting water body environmental objectives and water uses so we are better prepared for future climate impacts.

Water Industry Price Review 2024 - The Water Industry Strategic Environmental Requirements (WISER)sets out the environmental improvements that water companies must make to build resilience and protect the environment through the Water Industry Price Review 2024. It challenges water companies to plan strategically to tackle long term risks of drought, flooding, contributing to achieving net zero outcomes and improving water quality. Short and medium term actions will be delivered through projects identified in the 2019 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) Water companies will plan and start to deliver actions for the next WINEP starting in 2024.

The National Framework for Water Resources considers long term water needs developing actions in the short, medium and long term:

• One action requires regional water resource groups to publish Regional Water Resource Plans. The first plans will be published in 2023 and will account for future predicted changes in climate to ensure environmental resilience, increase resilience to drought and secure water supplies.

• It also identifies what abstraction reductions are needed to protect the environment, considering the risks from a changing climate. It requires water companies and other water users to work together to identify how they can stop unsustainable abstraction whilst maintaining public water supplies across catchments.

The Restoring Sustainable Abstraction Programme aims to solve environmental risks caused by unsustainable licensed water abstraction so helping to avoid deterioration of water quality as water scarcity risks increase. The Environment Agency works collaboratively with stakeholders to deliver integrated catchment solutions to prepare for the impacts of climate change and reduce unsustainable abstraction, so preventing deterioration of water quality. To date, 80% of licence amendments initiated by the restoring sustainable abstraction programme have returned over 37 billion litres of water to chalk catchments. This forms the start of an ongoing catchment based approach by the chalk stream restoration group to protect chalk streams.

Restoring nature and natural processes to strengthen resilience in catchments including:

• Environment Agency and partners continuing to support the Catchment based approach.This brings together partners including the Environment Agency, Natural England, Defra, water companies and environmental organisations. A key focus for catchment partnerships is to improve and restore catchments from source to sea. There are a number of short term actions proposed in the river basin management plans to secure greater participation to support partnerships in this endeavour (see section 5.1 Integrated whole system approach).

• Catchment partners are working together to improve and protect chalk rivers (quality, quantity, habitat, and biodiversity resulting in multiple benefits (see section 5.5 Chalk rivers).

• Implement the Government’s Local Nature Recovery Strategies. These new spatial strategies will drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits such as flood risk mitigation, water quality improvements and climate change adaptation.

• The Environment Agency is leading a cross-Defra initiative known as Restoring Meadows, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe), to support the restoration, through habitat creation, of 15% of the current extent of key estuarine and coastal habitats (such as saltmarsh, seagrass, native oyster reefs) by 2043. By restoring these habitats, climate benefits such as increased coastal resilience and carbon sequestration (blue carbon) can be realised.

• The natural environment investment readiness fund (NEIRF) supports the government’s goals in the 25 year environment plan, green finance strategy and 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution. It aims to stimulate private investment and market-based mechanisms that improve and safeguard our domestic natural environment by helping projects get ready for investment. Examples of projects created through NEIRF are restoration of peatlands, creation of new coastal wetlands and restoration of freshwaters and wetlands. Such projects deliver carbon sequestration and help species to adapt to a changing climate.

• The Environment Agency actively supports innovative finance opportunities for environmental projects, such as through Naturebid which helps deliver projects to improve the water environment and catchments making them more resilient to climate change.

Adopting nature based solutions, with wider benefits for people and nature, including carbon storage to mitigate the impacts of climate change including the following.

Catchment partnerships and local nature recovery strategy partners working together to implement nature based solutions to improve the water environment, reduce the flow of water during intense rainfall so build resilience to climate change.

The Environment Agency provides grants to third sector organisations for projects that deliver river basin management plan objectives. These include Natural Flood Management which restore water-dependent habitats to support wildlife to adapt to climate change and reduce the impact of flooding.

Water industry funded catchment schemes build resilience through the implementation of nature based solutions and habitat improvements. For instance, restoring healthy functioning of soil through farm nutrient management plans and soil testing such as those developed by Herefordshire Council in partnership with the Environment Agency and Natural England aims to ensure that the River Wye Special Area of Conservation achieves and maintains favourable condition with respect to phosphate.

Implement new approaches to Rural Land Management. Environmental Land Management incorporates schemes that will reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods like biodiversity, cleaner water, cleaner air, improving soil, and carbon reduction on their land. Environment Land Management schemes will deliver short and medium term actions. The Environment Agency are advising farmers on environmental improvements and leading on the delivery of Landscape Recovery, ‘Restoring England’s streams and rivers’ which will support habitats and species adapt to a climate change. Through the sustainable farming incentive peatland restoration is planned. This important natural habitat supports a huge variety of species, stores enormous amounts of carbon, reduces flood risk and purifies water, providing mitigation and adaptation to a changing climate and supporting biodiversity.

Government and partners implement England Trees Action Plan. The Government aims to increase the coverage of woodland from 10.1% to 12% in England by 2050. This means increasing tree planting rates across the United Kingdom to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025. The England Trees Action Plan 2021 to 2024 sets out the long term plan for trees, woodlands and forests, and is central to how the Government’s tree planting targets will be delivered. The delivery of the plan encourages tree planting in appropriate areas by providing targeting maps, data, and guidance. This helps habitats and wildlife adjust to climate change, provides carbon sequestration, and reduces flood risk. As part of this it continues to support other key tree planning programmes such as the ‘Keeping Rivers Cool’ initiative.

Medium term actions (to 2043)

Deliver Environment Act Targets (water and biodiversity). The Environment Act 2021 makes provisions for setting long term, legally binding environmental targets for water, waste and resources, air quality and biodiversity. These will drive essential action to tackle the impacts of climate change through improved water quality and nature based solutions such as sustainable farming, habitat creation and reducing deforestation (see section 5.2 Environment Act Targets).

Support Rural Land Management to achieve net zero. Contributions to the Government’s net zero commitments will be achieved through a range of measures including ‘Championing the Farmed Environment’. The National Farmers Union has made clear its commitment to achieving net zero by 2040 with the support of partners including the Environment Agency.

Water Industry, regulators and partners deliver environmental improvements. The latest Asset Management Planning cycle (Price Review 2024) will generate a new WINEP. This cycle requires wider environmental impacts to be considered in alignment with the regional water resource plans, to help make catchments more resilient to climate change and provide mitigation such as natural carbon storage. For instance, Anglian Water has identified schemes within WINEP that support the region’s chalk streams, reduce phosphorus in waste water without using extensive, carbon-hungry treatment processes, and will focus on river restoration schemes including the chalk rivers.

Support implementation of The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy and Strategy Roadmap. The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy sets out a vision for England ‘ready for and resilient to flooding and coastal change: today, tomorrow and to the year 2100’. This strategy presents an opportunity to create climate resilient places that facilitates a greener, cleaner, and more resilient future incorporating nature based solutions. The Strategy Roadmap to 2026 sets the next steps for achieving that ambition. It incorporates the Flood and Coastal Resilience Fund which funds 3 innovative programmes to improve resilience to flooding and coastal change. The strategy sits alongside and supports the delivery of the government’s 2020 policy statement on Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management.

The Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programme delivers flood protection and includes multiple benefits such as climate adaptation and mitigation through sourcing local materials where possible.

The Environment Agency’s Area Habitat Compensation and Restoration Programmes seeks to replace habitats that are lost due to coastal squeeze or tidal inundation effects that arise from the management of coastal defences. The second phase of work runs to 2050 and is coordinated by Environment Agency and coastal partnerships. Wider benefits include climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The Environment Agency implement the Flood & Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme - 25 projects targeting flood resilience. The fund managed by the Environment Agency helps meet the aims set out in the Government’s policy statement on flooding and coastal erosion. Various measures to improve flood resilience include nature based solutions, sustainable drainage systems, and encouraging local businesses to improve their flood resilience; and building community and voluntary sector capacity to respond and recover. These projects will be delivered over the next few years with completion by 2027.

Support implementation of statutory biodiversity net gain. Developers will be expected to deliver habitat creation or enhancement as part of delivering mandatory biodiversity net gain, to be maintained for at least 30 years. The aim is to leave nature in a measurably better state than before development took place by improving habitat connectivity and restoring or creating new features which support species and habitats to adapt to a changing climate.

The Environment Agency: Reaching Net Zero by 2030. The Environment Agency aims to become a net zero organisation by 2030 Environment Agency: reaching net zero by 2030 – ensuring that its own activities and its supply chain are taking as much carbon out of the atmosphere as it is putting into it, so limiting the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Low carbon practices will be embedded into river basin management plan measures by identifying opportunities for carbon reduction such as the use of low carbon cement and disseminating best practice to wider industry.

Long term actions (to 2080 and beyond)

In preparation for the publication of the Environment Improvement Plan in early 2023, Defra, Natural England and the Environment Agency have been assessing the use of new interventions to further improve the water environment. This longer term approach from now until 2100, will build on and incorporate current work on River Basin Management Plans, Environment Act targets and the recommendations made form the Environmental Audit Committee.

5.4 Nature recovery

Nature is in decline globally and in England. Many of our water dependent habitats and the ecosystems they support have been lost, isolated, modified and polluted. The species that depend on them are in decline, with water-dependent species most threatened with extinction. This decline is caused by a wide range of pressures from our use of land and water, which can impact directly or indirectly within the wider catchment from source to sea. Further explanation is in Challenges for the water environment, and Biodiversity: challenges for the water environment.

Nature provides us with a host of services we rely on, including clean water, clean air and food. It provides resilience to climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, regulating local climatic conditions and providing flood protection. Protecting and working with nature can promote economic growth and jobs and enhance our health and wellbeing. Nature has an intrinsic value, which we have a moral responsibility to preserve. Nature based solutions are likely to play an increasingly important role in nature recovery.

The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out the government’s commitment to a comprehensive and long-term approach to protecting and enhancing nature. The ambition is to leave the natural environment in a better state than it was found.

Some of our most important habitats and some areas that support our most threatened species are designated for their national and international importance and receive special legal protection to help conserve or restore them. Water-dependent habitat sites are recognised as protected areas in river basin management plans. 46% of the area of SSSI units (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) that underpin water-dependent habitats sites (or Ramsar sites) are assessed as being in favourable condition for water-related issues. A further 46% are assessed as being unfavourable but recovering condition.

The action plan

Protecting and enhancing water-dependent nature requires action to reduce all man-made pressures. These actions are summarised in the river basin management plans. This section summarises some of the actions specifically designed to protect nature or achieve habitat site objectives.

The Environment Act 2021 introduces new duties, tools and support to improve nature. They are as follows.

A new target to reverse biodiversity decline by 2030 and other biodiversity targets to drive improvements to the ecological health of the water environment (led by Defra and Natural England).

Defra and Natural England are bringing together partners, legislation and funding to create the nature recovery network - a national network of wildlife-rich places. Water dependent habitats are a critical part of this network.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new system of spatial strategies for nature and wider environmental outcomes. They will drive more coordinated, practical, focussed action for and investment in, nature’s recovery.

Biodiversity net gain is an approach to development which aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than beforehand. It is expected to become mandatory for Town and Country Planning developments in late 2023 (led by Defra and Local Authorities).

• A strengthened biodiversity duty for public bodies ‘to further’ the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and have regard to the relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Species Conservation Strategies and Protected Sites Strategies (applies to all public bodies).

Species Conservation Strategies are new mechanisms to safeguard species at greatest risk. These will benefit some of our most threatened water and wetland species (led by Natural England).

Protected Sites Strategies similarly aim to manage impacts on protected sites (led by Natural England).

Other government initiatives that will help nature to recover include government funding of £640 million for the Nature for Climate Fund. This fund supports the delivery of the England Trees Action Plan and the England Peat Action Plan Both the tree and the peat action plans will help create catchments more resilient to climate change through the delivery of nature-based solutions that directly benefit nature and the quality of the water environment.

The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy (Environment Agency) includes increasing the use of nature-based solutions for flood and coastal resilience. A roadmap sets out the next steps for achieving that ambition Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy Roadmap to 2026.

The actions required to achieve the habitat site objectives are set out in Natural England’s ‘remedies’ for each underlying SSSI. Remedies are agreed by the organisation responsible for their delivery. Site improvement plans by river basin district provide an overview of the longer-term issues that need to be addressed. They were first published in 2015 and are informed by theme plans which explain the overarching priority issues affecting multiple habitat sites.

Where pollution from agriculture causes habitat sites to be in unfavourable condition, Natural England and Environment Agency may produce diffuse water pollution plans, with the aim of establishing the evidence and proposed remedies to reduce nutrient inputs and recover water quality.

Where water quality or quantity issues cause habitat sites to have an unfavourable conservation status, Natural England may advise that water and nutrient neutrality is required for new activities that would add to these pressures. In some cases, new residential development can only happen if the nutrient load created through additional waste water from the housing development is mitigated.

Short term action (to 2027)

The 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan will set out the government’s approach to nature recovery and delivery of environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021.

The implementation of biodiversity net gain will provide a mechanism that both protects and enhances biodiversity close to the site of development.

The publication and implementation of local nature recovery strategies will drive action in the best locations to create, enhance and restore nature and deliver wider environmental benefits.

Protected site strategies will continue to be developed.

A variety of measures exist to reduce the impact of agriculture on biodiversity and are currently implemented through voluntary, incentivised and regulatory policy mechanisms. Voluntary initiatives include:

• Catchment Sensitive Farming
• Championing the Farmed Environment
• Water company catchment-based schemes
• LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming)
• Red Tractor
• Courtauld commitment

Farmers and land managers will continue with existing agri-environment agreements and agricultural transition schemes such as farming in protected landscape scheme, slurry investment scheme and farming investment fund. During this period, farmers in England will transition from the current agricultural funding support structure to 3 new environmental land management schemes: Sustainable Farming Incentive, further development of the Countryside Stewardship scheme and Landscape Recovery.The Countryside Stewardship scheme will pay for locally-targeted actions to make space for nature in the farmed landscape and the wider countryside, alongside food production. Landscape Recovery is for landowners and managers who want to take a more long-term and large-scale approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. This scheme represents a new approach to supporting long-term, significant habitat enhancement of the sort that will be essential to achieve our environmental ambitions. On Friday 2 September 2022 the Government confirmed the 22 selected projects for the first round. More information on future rounds will be provided in due course.

The Environment Agency will undertake about 4,000 regulatory inspections a year to help improve compliance with environmental legislation on farms.

Water companies continue to deliver improvements for nature through the 2019 Water Industry National Environment Programme. They will plan and start to deliver additional actions to conserve and enhance biodiversity and improve or prevent deterioration to habitat sites through actions in the 2024 Water Industry National Environment Programme.

Remedies to deliver improvements on sites of special scientific interest and habitat sites will be delivered through partnership funding and other funding bids (led by site owners and Natural England).

The Restoring Meadows, Marsh and Reef Partnership Initiative will develop a shortlist of key coastal sites with high ecosystem services and an action plan to scale up restoration activity and establish principles for sea-scape restoration.

The Championing Coastal Coordination Initiative will establish a framework for coastal coordination and explore establishing local estuarine and coastal restoration plans that can be used to inform other local plans, focus restoration activity improve nature and wider benefits, including catchment and coastal resilience. 

The Environment Agency’s flood and coastal risk management capital programme for 2021 to 2027while focussed primarily on delivering flood benefits, through working with nature it will create or improve 5,440 hectares of natural habitat and enhance 830 kilometres of rivers.

The Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment Programme (led by Defra) will help understand the value of restoring the terrestrial, freshwater and marine environment.

The Environment Agency will work with the United Kingdom Centre of Ecology and Hydrology to support the development of a saltmarsh code to enable restoration projects to source private funding in exchange for climate benefits.

The Environment Agency will work with academic institutions and BEIS to develop sufficient evidence to elevate saltmarsh onto the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector of the United Kingdom Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The recognition of net zero benefits of saltmarsh should lead to more investment in saltmarsh restoration.

Medium term action (to 2043)

In the medium term, protected site restoration and wider nature recovery can be expected, as the new duties, tools and support established through the Environment Act 2021 are embedded.

Water company actions will continue through further price review programmes and water industry national environment programmes.

Implementation of new Environmental Land Management Schemes that incentivise farmers to support nature recovery. New schemes are likely to see increasing levels of ambition from simple actions to make space for and link nature, through to catchment-scale restoration.

River restoration and targeted interventions to recover nature by a range of stakeholders, including public bodies, catchment partnerships and angling trusts.

Implementation of regional water resources plans, led by water companies but implemented with partners and landowners. This will benefit nature recovery through reduced pressure from water abstraction. The regional water resources plans will include a long-term environmental destination for water resources and the steps to get there.

The Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef Partnership Initiative will restore at least 15% of the current extent of key estuarine and coastal habitats, including saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster reefs.

The Environment Agency’s Area Habitat Compensation and Restoration Programmes seek to replace habitats that are lost due to coastal squeeze or tidal inundation effects that arise from the management of coastal defences. Epoch 2 runs to 2050 and is coordinated by Environment Agency and coastal partnerships.

Future Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management investment programmes will continue to deliver wider benefits including nature recovery.

5.5 Chalk Rivers

Chalk streams are a special type of spring-fed watercourse unique to England and northwest Europe. They derive most of their flow from predominately chalk groundwater. Flowing through a busy, modern landscape, they have been shaped extensively by man and yet they also possess a rich biodiversity, including many rare and endangered species.

85% of the world’s chalk streams are in the Anglian, Humber, South East, South West, and Thames River Basin Districts. You can view the chalk rivers on the river basin management plan map viewer. Despite their international importance, many chalk streams suffer from over abstraction of water, pollution and habitat loss.

In 2021 the Chalk Stream Restoration Group, with representatives from Defra, Environment Agency, Natural England, Ofwat, water companies, National Farmers Union and environmental groups, produced a strategy to restore chalk streams. The group’s vision for chalk streams is ‘283 ecologically vibrant chalk streams, all flowing with a healthy flush of clean water through meandering channels over bright gravel; streams full of wildlife, streams which are a pleasure to spend time beside and which could and should be a credit to the stewardship of our generation’.

The Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy is a comprehensive analysis of the issues threatening chalk streams, and includes actions to restore their ecological health.

The ecological health of chalk streams depends on 3 things:

• the naturalness of the flow regime
• how clean the water is
• physical habitat and biological factors like invasive species

The Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy addresses each of these in turn and, to achieve outcomes in the most efficient way, all three in combination.

The action plan

Work has already begun including:

• Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy developed and published.
• Natural England has published a map of all English chalk streams.
• Initial development of flagship restoration projects, each led by a water company, to show what is possible and to act as exemplars to assist in the restoration of other chalk catchments.
• All areas whose drinking water supply is dependent on abstraction from chalk groundwater have been defined as water stressed. This enables water companies to introduce compulsory metering.
• The Environment Agency has created a water resources chalk partnership fund. The fund will be available annually to fund partnership projects that deliver flow or physical habitat improvements in chalk catchments where there are impacts from abstraction. This will be funded from the charging scheme for abstraction licensing. 
• The Environment Agency has revoked 85 unused and underused licences in chalk streams, preventing 7.5 billion litres of water being abstracted every year.

Short term action (to 2027)

The Chalk Streams Restoration Group will:

• publish an implementation plan for the Strategy in Autumn 2022. This will identify time bound actions up to 2027 and beyond
• monitor progress and publish annual audit of the implementation plan
• work with water companies and other partners to deliver a national network of flagship catchment restoration projects

By 2025, water companies will make further reductions in water abstracted of about 100 million litres per day in chalk streams.

Medium term action (to 2043)

Ongoing investment and prioritisation of chalk streams will lead to improvement in their ecological status and resilience. This includes prioritising early delivery for chalk catchments as part of regional water resource plan implementation to 2050. Regional plans are being produced by Regional Water Resources Groups. They will include an environmental destination or level of ambition for chalk catchments.

The Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan ascribes discharges to chalk streams as ‘high priority’. At least 75% of ‘high priority’ category sites will only be permitted to have 1 discharge per year, where they can demonstrate that there is no local adverse ecological impact, by 2035.

Long term action (to 2080)

Prioritised early delivery of the environmental destination for chalk catchments, to show how targeted actions from a broad coalition of partners can lead to catchment and country wide improvements in chalk streams.

Other considerations

As with any actions to protect and restore the natural environment there are many other considerations. These include finding solutions that support climate mitigation and making sure that chalk streams are as resilient as possible to climate change and other pressures.

Only by inviting everyone to participate in developing and delivering actions for chalk streams will a better environment be achieved for nature and for all communities. This will require increasing the diversity of partners engaged in water management, increasing inclusivity, and striving for a more equitable allocation of water outcomes across all communities.

5.6 Deliver a resilient supply

Future water security (having enough water of sufficient quality for people, environment and wildlife) is vulnerable to climate change, increasing demand, and environmental pressures. These challenges are becoming more acute and if we do nothing many areas of England will face water shortages by 2050.

The Environment Agency’s National Framework for Water Resources (National Framework), published in 2020, sets out the scale of action needed to make sure resilient water supplies are available in England to meet future needs. This includes public water supply, direct abstraction for agriculture, electricity production, and industry. The National Framework also details what is needed in the long-term to restore, protect and improve the water environment. It estimates that by 2050 the supply-demand gap will be 3,400 million litres of additional water each day requiring investment of between £17 to £27 billion. Recent estimates from regional planning groups raised this figure to around 4,000 million litres per day, partly driven by environmental needs that could require an additional investment of £2.8 to £4.5 billion. Nearly 50% of the supply-demand gap is in the south-east region.

Securing water supplies in the face of climate change and population growth will require new water resources, further leakage control and improved water efficiency.

Government is considering setting a new water demand target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce public water supply use per head of population by 20% by 2037. Meeting the target, would require reducing household per capita consumption to 132 litres per person per day, reducing leakage by 31.8% and a 9% reduction in non-household water use by 2037. When achieved, these measures could deliver over 1000 million litres per day by 2037.

The action plan

Short term action (to 2027)

Water companies will publish water resources management plans in 2024. These will set out how companies plan to maintain a secure supply of water and protect the environment over at least the next 25 years.

Regional water resource groups will publish the first set of regional water resources plans in 2023. Using the concept of ‘Environment Destination’ these plans will allows water companies and regional groups to identify how to address future abstraction pressures before they become a problem. The time frame for meeting the environment destination is from 2030 to 2050.

Changes to water companies’ abstraction licences for 2025 to 2030 will be included in the PR24 Water Industry National Environment Programme and individual water company water resources management plans.

By 2025, the Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) should have accelerated strategic water resources solutions such as new reservoirs and large-scale water transfers to ‘construction-ready’ status. Further schemes should be construction-ready by 2030.

In 2025 the Environment Agency will publish a refreshed National Framework. This will add greater emphasis to multi-sector water resources planning – keeping environmental enhancement at its heart whilst planning secure supplies for food and low carbon energy production.

As part of the Environment Act 2021 the Government is consulting on new mandatory water efficiency label on water using products and explore increased efficiency through Building Regulations.

Medium term action (to 2043)

Powers will come into effect through the Environment Act 2021 to allow sustainability reductions to be made to abstraction licences without the need to pay compensation to licence holders.

The water industry will collectively set out a ‘roadmap’ to deliver future water demand reductions covering the two distinct periods, up to 2037 and beyond.

Water companies will continue to manage demand through stretching reductions in leakage (industry has agreed to halve leakage by 2050 from 2017 to 2018).

The Environment Agency expects public water supplies to be resilient to droughts of 0.2% annual probability by 2040 through the actions contained in regional water resources plans and WRMPs.

Large scale Strategic (Water) Resource Options should be in train as part of the overall response to the forecast supply and demand gap. Options emerging through the water resources plans and regional plans are:

• a new large reservoir in Oxfordshire that will provide water security for London and the south east of England
• 2 new reservoirs that will store flood water that would be discharged to sea in South Lincolnshire and north of Cambridge near the Fens
• larger use of water recycling in London and parts of the south east of England
• transfers of water from the River Severn to the River Thames and water from Birmingham to London using the canal network

Long term action (to 2080)

The Environment Agency’s aim is to achieve a reduction of 2,000 million litres per day in water demand by 2050.

5.7 Sewage discharges and storm overflows

Water and sewerage companies collect and treat domestic and trade waste water before it is discharged to the environment. This includes, anything flushed down the toilet, water from baths and showers and water from dish washing or sinks. When a combined sewerage system is used, waste water is mixed with surface water runoff in a single pipe. This waste is called sewage. When it rains, storm overflows can operate, and a proportion of the sewage is discharged direct to the environment.

Without storm overflows in the combined sewerage systems, urban areas would be flooded by sewage. Preventing this requires increasing sewer capacity or diverting surface water away from combined sewerage systems.

Seven per cent of water bodies are impacted by storm overflows, limiting achievement of good ecological status. Storm overflows also have local impact on wildlife, bathing, and other water-based recreation.

5.7.1 Storm overflow discharges

The Environment Act 2021 imposes a duty on water and sewerage companies to:

• deliver a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts on the environment and public health of discharges from storm sewage overflows
• publish annual reports on discharges from storm overflows

Defra have published a storm overflow discharge reduction plan with the aim of eliminating harm from storm overflows.

Under the plan, water companies will have to achieve targets which will mean discharges can only happen if there is unusually heavy rain, and if there is no adverse impact to the local environment. Water companies will have to achieve targets set out in the plan:

• by 2035, water companies will have to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water; and improve 75% of overflows discharging to high priority nature sites
• by 2050, this will apply to all remaining storm overflows covered by the targets, regardless of location

Overflows that are causing the most harm will be addressed first to make the biggest difference as quickly as possible, and water companies will be expected to consider nature-based solutions in their planning.

Short term action (to 2027)

Water and sewerage companies will:

• complete PR19 (2020 to 2025) improvements to over 800 storm overflows, including the Thames Tideway Tunnel
• by December 2023 monitor all storm overflows using event duration monitoring. This will show long term spill trends that will inform the prioritisation of storm overflow improvements during PR24 (2025 to 2030)
• report most storm overflow spills to the public within 1 hour. People will then be able to make informed choices about how and when they use affected water bodies
• investigate the impact on the environment of storm overflows that are the most frequent spillers
• install continuous water quality monitors in the receiving water environment to assess the local ecological impact of storm overflows
• work with Environment Agency and Risk Management Authorities to promote final cycle 1 Drainage and Waste Water Management Plans that develop joint solutions for the management of surface water and drainage flood risks
• by 2025 produce statutory Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans. These will replace the Drainage and Waste Water Management Plans and set out how waste water systems, and the drainage networks that impact them, are to be extended, improved, and maintained to ensure they protect the environment and reduce flood risk in the long-term
• where appropriate use of nature based solutions to reduce the frequency and impact of storm overflows

Medium term action (to 2043)

Water and sewerage companies will:

• use Drainage and Sewerage Managements Plans to ensure they make adequate investment in their sewerage and waste water assets to protect the environment and people
• ensure storm overflows do not prevent the achievement of the environmental objectives in the river basin management plans or impact on wildlife and public health
• ensure storm overflow discharge frequency is reduced to an acceptable balance between societal needs and cost. This is currently viewed as being a maximum of 10 discharges per year based on proposals that the Government consulted on in Spring 2022
• improve their behaviour towards the maintenance and operation of their sewerage assets

Households and communities understand their role in the management of surface water by using sustainable drainage systems and nature based solutions.

The Environment Agency improves its permitting process for storm overflows under the Environmental Permitting Regulations to ensure water and sewerage companies maintain their sewerage assets to prevent deterioration.

Long term Action (to 2080)

Water and sewerage companies to continue to utilise Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans to secure no deterioration in storm overflow performance and prevent ecological, public health and societal impact.

5.7.2 Waste water treatment works discharges

Reducing the impact of waste water discharges on the environment is a government priority. Government is considering setting a new target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce the permitted phosphorus loading from treated waste water by 80% by 2037 against a 2020 baseline.

There is also a proposed new legal duty on water companies in England to upgrade waste water treatment works by 2030 in ‘nutrient neutrality’ areas to reduce nutrients to technically achievable limits. Nutrient neutrality is to ensure that any land use or developments occurring around vulnerable watercourses do not cause an increase in harmful nutrient levels. Where an increase will occur, it needs to be offset to balance out, or neutralise, the impact on the environment. This is being introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Short term action (to 2027)

Water and sewerage companies will:

• deliver the improvements to the waste water treatment works listed in the 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP)
• include additional improvements in the 2025-2030 Water Industry National Environment Programme to achieve the environmental objectives of the river basin management plans, Environment Act waste water nutrient target and technically achievable limits where required.
• implement measures to improve the chemical quality of rivers, identified through successive rounds of chemical investigation programmes. These may include controls on emerging substances such as microplastics, pharmaceutical products and reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance
• improve monitoring of flows of sewage being fully treated to ensure compliance with permit conditions
• explore and utilise techniques that are low carbon and deliver wider environmental benefits without compromising on water quality standards

Medium term action (to 2043)

Water and sewerage companies will:

• beyond 2027, waste water treatment works will further reduce the load of phosphorus they discharge to achieve the Environment Act waste water nutrient target
• by 2030, take action to ensure no river, lake or estuary is in poor or bad ecological status due to discharges from the water industry. This means improving water body ecological status to ensure ‘moderate’ ecological status as a minimum is achieved and improve beyond ‘moderate’ where technology allows

Long term action (to 2080)

There will be increasing pressures through geographically uneven population growth in England. There will need to be an uptake in low carbon technologies or approaches to waste water treatment to meet these challenges and continue to protect the environment.

Adaptations to the waste water networks will be required if changes in weather patterns observed through the impact of climate change and mean alterations to flow regimes in surface waters that take treated waste water effluents.

5.8 Inland bathing

Until recently, bathing was an activity usually associated with the sea or lakes, with legislation allowing locations used for bathing to be designated and managed as bathing waters. Today, there is increasing interest in using rivers for recreational bathing. Two river areas have recently been designated as bathing waters. More are expected to be proposed for designation.

Bathing water quality is determined by the amounts of bacteria from faeces present in the water. These bacteria, known as faecal indicator organisms, generally don’t affect wildlife but have been shown to be good predictors of illness when bathing. They are present in sewage discharges, agricultural runoff, and drainage from urban areas.

There is a relative lack of knowledge of the suitability of river locations as bathing waters. This is because there is no requirement to monitor a site for faecal indicator organisms until designation as a bathing water.

Achieving bathing water quality in rivers will be challenging. Rivers generally contain higher levels of faecal bacteria than the sea or lakes because they are closer to the sources, there is less dispersion of the bacteria, and less time for self-purification. At many river locations, compliance with the bathing water standards for faecal indicator organisms may not be possible.

The action plan

Mechanisms to improve and maintain bathing water quality are well understood and are an established part of the water quality planning process.

Water company assets that impact a bathing water are improved through the water industry’s 5-yearly investment cycle.

Continuous sewage discharges impacting designated bathing waters typically need to be disinfected. Ultraviolet light has been the technology of choice but is a carbon-intensive process. Alternative disinfection technologies are currently being considered by the water industry, including chemical dosing with performic acid, ozonation or ultrafiltration. These technologies have not yet been deployed beyond trial plants.

Storm overflows impacting a bathing water are addressed by reducing the frequency of operation through increased sewer capacity or by diverting surface water away from combined sewerage systems.

Catchments with significant loads of agricultural faecal indicator organisms are included in catchment sensitive farming advice, as well as being covered by regulation under the Farming Rules for Water and by Environmental Land Management schemes.

Agricultural measures to protect river bathing waters remove pathways for the faecal material from livestock reaching the river, for example riparian buffer strips, fencing, water troughs or diversion of hardstanding drainage. Other interventions include reduced stocking density, or a change in land use, to forestry for example.

The diffuse nature of agricultural sources of faecal indicator organisms means interventions need to be carried out at a catchment scale and on an ongoing basis.

Sources of faecal indicator organisms from urban areas include misconnected drainage allowing foul or grey water to enter surface water systems. Rectifying misconnections requires detailed catchment investigations and intervention of each wrongly connected household.

Highway drainage has also been shown to contain high levels of faecal indicator organisms, presumably from birds and wildlife. Interventions to reduce this include sustainable drainage systems to allow the particulate material suspended in the surface water to settle thus reduce their impact on watercourses.

Short term action (to 2027)

Action by water companies through the government’s Green Recovery initiative to trial the creation of two bathing rivers, including reducing harm from storm overflows by reducing spills into the area during the bathing season.

Investment to investigate and improve water industry sewage systems during the PR24 investment cycle that impact on potential future bathing rivers.

Action by government to revise its existing guidance on how to make an application for a new bathing water designation. This will make it easier for water community groups to understand the criteria for bathing water status.

Action by government to review the Bathing Water Regulations 2013.

Medium Term Action (to 2043)

The Environment Agency develops and applies new permitting design standards for storm overflows, giving protection to any river where storm overflows significantly impact water quality.

Action to reduce the impact of storm overflows as specified in the Storm Overflow Reduction Plan

5.9 Growth, urban development and plastics

The Government is committed to the delivery of more homes, supported by the infrastructure and jobs needed to tackle inequality, level up, and create resilient, prosperous places. Many of those places rely on a healthy water environment as a focus for jobs and business activities.

Green growth and a sustainable future are a core EA2025 ambition – a strong environment as well as a strong economy. The Environment Agency is working to ensure that growth and a high-quality environment are delivered together – enabling net zero, climate resilient places, and infrastructure that are good for people, nature, and the economy. This is being done by delivering sustainable projects using a more integrated whole systems approach (see section 5.1 Integrated Whole System Approach), working in partnership and advising on long term policy, protecting and restoring nature, improving lives, and contributing towards job creation.

There have been great improvements in urban water quality since the 1970s and progress in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and London demonstrates how water improvements have gone hand in hand with creation of new economic opportunities. However challenges remain, both in these areas and in ensuring that other towns and cities benefit in the same way.

Our urban settings concentrate human activities and as a result we see pressures that must be tackled: hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, metals, litter, nutrients, pathogens and plastics, including microplastic particles, which are an emerging pollutant of concern. Further information on pressures can be found at: The state of the environment: the urban environment and Towns, Cities and Transport: Challenges for the water environment.

The action plan

Short term action (to 2027)

Support the introduction of biodiversity net gain for development that needs planning permission and expansion of the policy to nationally significant infrastructure. Maximise opportunities for development to contribute to the recovery of rivers and coasts by improving water quality, managing flood and coastal erosion risk sustainably and promoting climate resilience as part of mandatory biodiversity net gain.

Work with Defra, Natural England and local authorities to help embed Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) bringing together a wide range of different plans to drive more coordinated and practical action to help nature - protecting, improving, expanding, and connecting habitats including water and water-dependent environments. LNRS will seek to deliver wider environmental outcomes such as flood risk mitigation, improvements to the quality of the water environment and climate change adaptation wherever possible.

Work with Government (Defra, DLUHC) to help inform changes to national spatial planning policy (including as detail emerges from the Growth Plan), advocating for green and blue infrastructure, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), alongside enhancement of natural capital and natural flood risk management to better support carbon sequestration and manage water resources, water quality, flood risk and coastal erosion. Explore new guidance for local authorities on how river basin management plans can help inform blue place making, working with the Natural Course Project to help local authority spatial planners better consider the water environment in their decision making.

Work with national and local partners to ensure sustainable growth which protects and improves the water environment. Shape strategic plans for growth, including as a consultee on local authority Local Plans and contribute to accelerated delivery of development and infrastructure through providing timely technical advice as a statutory consultee for planning applications and nationally significant infrastructure projects. Work locally to improve alignment and integration with combined and local authorities, and other partners, informing their plans for growth. Promote the value of good quality blue space and clean and plentiful water to secure the support of local leaders to increase funding and investment (see innovative funding in river basin management plan glossary), into the water environment, advocating that nature based solutions, are integral to achieving this.

Advocate the value that good quality blue space and clean and plentiful water can make to Levelling Up objectives and investment. Highlight the value to public health, climate resilience and nature from good quality blue space, as well as the value of clean and plentiful water as an essential provisioning service for business and communities. For example, coastal communities have some of the worst levels of economic and social deprivation in the United Kingdom. By working closely with estuarine and coastal communities and partnerships, we can help to restore their local habitats and improve health and wellbeing, by providing coastal green and blue spaces to escape and explore. This can also help improve water quality, support fisheries, and increase jobs and investment.

Deliver Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy Roadmap actions contributing to sustainable growth that maximises opportunities for at risk communities and supports a greener economy. For example, the Environment Agency will work with the Association of Sustainable Drainage Authorities to support lead local flood authorities to promote best practice in incorporating sustainable drainage systems for new development. The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England sets out a vision for a nation ready for, and resilient to, flooding and coastal change: today, tomorrow and to the year 2100.

Advise Defra on review of Schedule 3 to the Flood & Water Management Act which, if implemented, would create SuDS Approval Bodies, a regulatory framework for works affecting drainage and would remove the right for developers to connect surface water to sewers. It would also ensure that SuDS would be appropriately maintained throughout their lifetime, through adoption by the SuDS Approval Body.

Work with Defra, DLUHC and Natural England to help determine the sources of nutrient pollution, the suitability of mitigation solutions, and the actions that are needed in the longer term to ensure protected sites meet their objectives. Government has developed a package of support to ensure that developers and local authorities are able to achieve nutrient neutrality and allow sustainable development.

Identify mitigation opportunities to meet Good Ecological Potential within, often urbanised, water bodies, for example through the removal of redundant physical structures, including weirs and culverts. Continue to improve the natural physical conditions within urban waterways using Environment Agency permitting and licensing approaches to ensure new developments are compatible with environmental targets, water body objectives and provide ecosystem services through good green and blue infrastructure. The flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programmeidentifies opportunities and delivers mitigation measures, including improvements in urban environments.

Support development of a national framework of green infrastructure standards by Natural England. These will contribute to healthy, resilient places and an improved water environment by mainstreaming the planning, creation and stewardship of good green and blue infrastructure for multiple benefits including flood and water management. The framework will include a set of principles, standards, design code and national mapping including for blue infrastructure.

Work with Government and industry to support the clean up and revitalisation of brownfield sites, increasing understanding of the value of remediating contaminated sites to create better places for people and the water environment. The remediation of brownfield land provides an improved local environment that can unlock regeneration and the social, economic, and ecological revitalisation of communities. The Environment Agency will continue working collaboratively with partners and partnerships, including through spatial planning reforms, to explore how we enable these benefits to be measured so that remediation can be funded and delivered to achieve environmental net gain.

Support National Highways in their delivery of the Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2) running from 2020 to 2025, to target investment through the Environment and Wellbeing Designated Fund, including mitigating those outfalls that pose the greatest environmental risk in discharging run-off from the Strategic Road Network. Continue to liaise with the Department for Transport as they develop RIS3 (2025 to 2030) to ensure that the water environment remains a priority to receive funding.

Work with Defra as they develop a roadmap towards greater water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including the exploration of revised building regulations and how the development of new technologies can contribute to meeting these standards.

Work with central government and local partners including water companies, to develop an Integrated Water Management Framework for the OxCam Arc. Drawing together water, flood risk, natural capital and land use planning work to create a water and flood risk evidence base which allows a more proactive, holistic approach to decision making and planning for water management infrastructure.

Work with partners, including water companies, industry and academia to investigate sources, pathways and impacts in relation to plastic pollution. Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out ambitious plans to reduce avoidable plastic waste; for the plastic we use to be fully reused, recycled or compostable; to prevent micro-plastics reaching the seas. The impact of these plastics on the environment, on the food chain and on health is not yet well understood, although visible pollution is clearly objectionable. Further detail on the actions underway is available in Plastics: challenges for the water environment

Medium term action (to 2043) and long term action (to 2080)

Detailed actions beyond 2027 are subject to much uncertainty and depend on future policy and delivery on growth and development. The Environment Agency will help shape future policy on growth and development, including ongoing spatial planning reform, and work with Defra and other partners to help develop clear shared policies and guidance on environmental net gain. For example, the introduction of Environmental Outcome Reports to replace Environmental Impact Assessment is a shift to a more environmental outcome-based approach to assess a plan or development project against. Well designed, this will help to enhance the water environment over the longer term.

Over the medium to long term, the requirements in the Environment Act 2021 are expected to be well embedded and delivering significant improvements to the urban water environment. For example, the following actions will lead to improved waters and climate resilient places, including in towns, cities and new communities:

• Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans are well established and Water and Sewerage Companies are using these to secure waste water infrastructure maintenance and investment to minimise failures of their asset base (see section 5.7 Sewage discharges)
• a reduction in water consumption through water labelling, increased grey and rainwater harvesting and tighter building standards (see section 5.2 Environment Act targets)
• LNRS routinely identify opportunities and help target investment which results in nature recovery

Government ambition, through Defra’s policy development work for the 25 Year Environment Plan and associated Environment Improvement Plan, will help frame the specific actions and activities over the medium and long term, alongside the Environment Act targets. This will help improve rivers, lakes, estuaries, and groundwater, all of which are essential components of net zero, climate resilient places.

Taken as a whole, the actions outlined in the sections above, coupled with the Environment Agency’s regulatory powers to control impacts from urban areas (for example permitting certain discharges and abstractions) represent significant opportunities to improve the water environment over the short and longer term.

5.10 Agriculture

Driven by the demand for cheap food, conventional farming practices have had negative impacts on biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, soil quality, water and air quality, and can increase flood risk. However, through sustainable land management agriculture has the potential to be part of the solution. These issues have been around a long time, securing change within the agricultural sector is a challenge. Failure to comply with agricultural regulations is compounded by ‘market failure’ which constrains the ability of the sector to pass on costs to enable investment in farm infrastructure and the more sustainable management required.

More information can be found in the document Agriculture and rural land management: challenges for the water environment.

The action plan

If we are to achieve improvements in the water environment, in line with the aims of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017, there will need to be a shift in how land is managed, especially in a changing climate. This is likely to require farmers to work more closely with nature. The 25 Year Environment Plan states that there will be support for farmers to turn over fields to meadows rich in herbs and wildflowers, plant more trees, restore habitats for endangered species, recover soil fertility and attract wildlife.

Pressures from the ‘cost of living crisis’ and concerns over food security, have increased the debate and perceived conflict between making space for nature and national food security. We have an opportunity to ensure long-term environmental recovery is achieved alongside sustainable and long-term food security.

Solutions are needed that combine regulation, advice, and incentive through blended public and private investment. An example of an integrated water management approach is the Future Fens Integrated Adaptation project which brings together and improves alignment of water management strategies and plans. This can support a holistic approach, aligning action on land use to protect and improve water, and mitigate the effects of floods and droughts for people and wildlife. Delivering this more integrated approach will require short, medium and long term action. See below for specific actions related to agriculture, and section 5.1 Integrated whole system approach.

Short term action (to 2027)

Environmental Land Management Schemes:

During this period, farmers in England will transition from the current agricultural funding support structure to 3 new environmental land management schemes: Sustainable Farming Incentive, further development of the Countryside Stewardship scheme and Landscape Recovery. These reward farmers and land managers for providing environmental benefits. The government’s aim is that 70% of farms will take part in the schemes by 2028. The new schemes, and other initiatives will create 20,000 ha/year of biodiversity habitat. Government have also developed the Slurry Infrastructure Grant to provide financial support for transformative technology and infrastructure such as slurry separators to facilitate nutrient exporting, and covered slurry stores going beyond regulatory requirements with 6 months capacity. These initiatives provide significant opportunity to improve and protect water. See the estimated pollution reductions from voluntary land management and land use change until 2027.

These schemes will also contribute to the reduction of, and adaptation to, climate change. For example, by using natural flood management techniques. Risk management authorities will also support farmers and landowners to access scheme agreements to adapt their businesses and practices to be more resilient to flooding and coastal change. The Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy Roadmap to 2026 sets out the next steps for achieving the ambition of the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy.

Advice:

• government have increased funding available for the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme. The new annual budget will be £15.1 million, up from £8.3 million in 2020 to 2021. This means it will cover 100% of England’s farmland, up from 40% of its coverage in 2018, with farmers in all parts of England able to access advice and support from March 2022. This includes using CSF to help farmers and landowners play an active role in mitigating flood risk and in delivering drought resilience benefits
• partners should also continue to work together to support agricultural sector led advice initiatives such as Championing the Farmed Environment, Tried and Tested and Voluntary Initiative
• National Farmers Union (NFU) is working with the Environment Agency to establish a rural resilience partnership focused on helping farmers and growers adapt to a changing climate. The partnership will look at how farming practices can enhance flood resilience in rural areas alongside sustainable food production
• water company catchment-based schemes will provide farmers advice and funding to protect and improve water. As part of this, the Environment Agency will work with partners through the WET project to explore more flexible approaches to permitting to support catchment schemes (see section 5.1 Integrated whole system approach)

Enforcement:

• Within England all waters are covered by environmental legislation to protect water quality, biodiversity and human health, such as the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations (in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones), Slurry Silage and Agricultural Fuel Oils Regulations and the Farming Rules for Water. Increased regulatory resource and effort will help ensure regulatory compliance that will allow farmers to, with good management, reduce their impact on the water environment and begin restoring catchments. The Environment Agency has 85 new agricultural regulatory inspection officers with a focus on improving compliance with environmental legislation on farms and these will deliver 4,000 regulatory inspections per year during the next 3 years. The film Future Farming in the Axe Catchment demonstrates an advice led regulatory approach.

Diffuse Water Pollution Plans:

• Natural England and the Environment Agency will continue to develop and implement Diffuse Water Pollution Plans for habitat sites where the site condition is affected by pollution from agriculture.

Water Resource Strategy:

• In some places, agriculture is taking unsustainable quantities of water from rivers and aquifers. Environment Agency to work with partners to implement the innovative solutions developed through the Water Abstraction Plan 2017 to achieve better access to water and more sustainable abstraction in 10 priority catchments for example the Alt Crossens abstraction licensing strategy.

Food supply chain initiatives:

• partners continue to work together to implement initiatives such as assurance schemes which establish production standards, including LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Marque and Red Tractor
• implement the Courtauld 2030 Water Roadmap (WRAP) which is a joint vision across the United Kingdom food and drink industry to deliver the Courtauld Commitment 2030 water target that 50% of the United Kingdom’s fresh food is sourced from areas with sustainable water management

Medium term action (to 2043)

Aim to deliver a significant reduction in nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution from agricultural land to the water environment.

Increase agricultural compliance with environmental legislation will help improve water quality and achieve the targets of the 25 Year Environment Plan. The food market also needs to accept meeting environmental standards as a part of doing business and provide greater support to the farm businesses that supply them.

The Environment Agency and government need to work with other partners to more closely align water management initiatives with food, growth, and nature strategy into a more integrate holistic approach, building upon projects such as the Courtauld 2030.

Full adoption of environmental land management schemes.

Long term action (to 2080)

Create a landscape where wildlife is thriving, rivers and streams are clean and there is plentiful water. Agriculture works with natural processes and does not pollute the environment.

Creating or restoring 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside the protected site network, focusing on priority habitats as part of a wider set of land management changes providing extensive benefits.

5.11 Chemicals and micro-plastics 

There are approximately 350,000 different chemical substances in commercial use today and their number and applications continue to grow. The impact of chemicals on the environment is complex, needing a range of interventions to manage the effects, from voluntary initiatives to direct regulation; and from safer use of chemicals to banning some chemicals completely.

The Environment Agency’s strategic approach to the management of chemicals in waters aims to:

• protect aquatic life from exposure to chemicals
• reduce human and wildlife exposure to chemicals in the food chain
• protect surface and groundwaters where chemical contamination may compromise their use for drinking water

It identifies chemicals of national, local or emerging concern and prioritises these for action through sustainable cost beneficial solutions for people and wildlife. The approach is designed to be dynamic and responsive to scientific developments and potential emerging chemical issues.

The following sections set out the action plans for different aspects of managing chemicals in the water environment.

5.11.1 Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals with a diverse range of uses and properties. Many PFAS and their breakdown products are highly persistent and mobile once released into the environment. Conclusive toxicological evidence for many of these PFAS is however limited and as a result, there are considerable uncertainties when assessing and managing risk.

Despite these uncertainties, there is growing global pressure to regulate several PFAS which are now ubiquitous in the environment. There is also recognition that regulation that is based on grouping of PFAS will be needed to guard against regrettable substitutions.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are 2 PFAS of high concern because they display adverse effects on human and animal health and tend to bioaccumulate.

The action plan

PFOA and PFOS are subject to strict regulation and are listed as persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention. In June 2022, Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), an alternative to PFOS, was included as a persistent organic pollutant. There is the potential for more PFAS to be nominated and accepted in future international regulation.

The convention is not yet fully implemented into United Kingdom law for PFOA and PFHxS. Until it is, wastes containing these substances will continue to enter the environment.

In the United Kingdom, PFOS is the only PFAS with an Environmental Quality Standard. The Environment Agency is developing capabilities to analyse PFAS; it now monitors over 40 PFAS across its groundwater monitoring network and is developing the same capabilities for surface waters.

Managing PFAS once they are released into the environment is expensive and there are limited remediation options. Treatment involves significant capital and operational costs that often fall on utility companies, bill payers, local authorities, and government. To minimise any future burdens, it is important to develop regulatory approaches that manage and reduce these risks.

The Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive are carrying out a Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA) which will make recommendations on how to manage the identified risks of using PFAS. The RMOA is due to be published in 2022.

Short term action (to 2027)

• relevant parties to take forward recommendations from the RMOA to shape future regulation
• Defra to develop a Chemicals Strategy to achieve safer and more environmentally sustainable management of PFAS for the present and for future generations
• Environment Agency, working with partners, on the Stockholm Convention, the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• Environment Agency to identify emerging PFAS issues through its Prioritisation and Early Warning System (PEWS) as analytical techniques and scientific understanding evolves
• Environment Agency, working with partners, to carry out surveillance monitoring of PFAS in all relevant environmental compartments
• Environment Agency to carry out enhanced monitoring of PFAS where contamination is suspected
• Environment Agency to assist with the phase-out of PFOA based firefighting foams before July 2025
• use existing hazard information to refine and develop appropriate environmental quality standards
• Environment Agency to develop understanding of legacy pollution sources to inform future management strategies

Medium term action (to 2043)

Environment Agency to set out a strategic approach to manage PFAS sources and pathways to the water environment as well as addressing legacy pollution. This includes continuing to meet the United Kingdom’s commitments under the Stockholm Convention as outlined in the United Kingdom’s most recent National Implementation Plan.

Defra, the Environment Agency and other relevant agencies to develop new regulatory approaches to improve protection of the water and soil environment from uncertain chemical risks. This includes addressing groups of chemicals with similar properties to help keep pace with the growth in chemical innovation and avoid regrettable substitution.

Defra, the Environment Agency and other relevant agencies to monitor and consider international work to develop hazard criteria for persistent, mobile and toxic substances that represent a risk to the water environment which are not to be addressed through current regulations.

Defra and Environment Agency to provide regulatory certainty which can drive future innovation of safer, more sustainable chemicals.

5.11.2 Antimicrobial resistance

The development, and in some cases increasing prevalence, of resistance to antimicrobials (including antibiotics and antifungal, antiparasitic, and antiviral substances) used in clinical and veterinary cases has long been recognised. In recent years, the concept of ‘One Health’ has added recognition of the role that the environment plays in health protection, along with the need for protection of the health of the environment itself. Organisations including the World Health Organisation, United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Kingdom Government have identified the need for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in the environment to sit alongside the surveillance carried out in clinical and veterinary settings.

However, there are multiple challenges in deciding what environmental surveillance should entail. This includes what to monitor, how and where.

The action plan

Short term action (to 2027)

• Environment Agency and United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are working together on a large government research project (£19 million in all) aiming to develop surveillance options for resistant organisms and genes in the environment (£5 million)
• working with Water Companies via periodic review funded research on treatment performance
• developing estimates of the minimum selective concentrations that drive development or maintenance of resistance in the environment
• doing this across all environmental media: air, soil, water, waste
• develop a cost-effective surveillance programme for resistant organisms and genes in the environment based on this research
• influencing future agricultural practice and stewardship to minimise the risks of resistance developing due to the use or overuse of crop protection products
• develop a range of threshold concentration values for antifungals in water
• ever closer working with clinicians and others across the One Health spectrum
• incorporate additional controls on anti-microbial resistance into existing regulation of Materials to Land, including waste and sewage sludge

Medium term action (to 2043)

Manage and minimise the use of substances likely to drive resistance through encouraging stewardship and appropriate permitting.

Long term action (to 2080)

Continue the focus as new clinical, veterinary and agricultural approaches are introduced.

5.11.3 Chemicals of emerging concern

Chemicals of emerging concern are a broad range of substances from a wide variety of chemical uses, including (but not exclusively) industrial chemicals, solvents, pesticides, ultraviolet filters, flame retardants, plasticisers, surfactants, tyre breakdown products, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, biocides, pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines, and cosmetics. Chemicals might be considered of emerging concern when environmental concentrations and the hazards and risks associated with a chemical are not fully understood.

The number of synthetic chemicals in use continues to increase, with an estimated 350,000 currently in use. Innovation is leading to new chemicals being developed and used in our day to day lives. It is inevitable that an increasing range of chemicals will be detected at very low levels in workplaces, homes, and the environment. Many of these chemicals will not represent any risk at the concentrations that they are found.

The action plan

Analytical techniques are advancing rapidly, allowing chemicals to be detected at ever lower concentrations. The Environment Agency has invested in cutting edge analytical techniques and scans for over 1,550 specific chemicals in its surveillance network. The list of chemicals being looked for is continually reviewed and added to. Innovative monitoring techniques need to be developed to further improve understanding of the presence of an even wider range of chemicals in the environment.

In response to a commitment in the 25 year environment plan the Environment Agency has developed a Prioritisation and Early Warning System (PEWS) for chemicals of emerging concern, to consolidate intelligence from monitoring and horizon scanning. PEWS informs understanding about which chemicals pose a potential risk to the water environment, soils, sediments, and wildlife. For substances that PEWS indicates pose the greatest potential environmental risk, the Environment Agency considers whether there are regulatory gaps in relation to the substances and possible interventions to reduce the risk. PEWS allows the Environment Agency to direct its efforts to investigate emerging challenges and act on concerns.

The Environment Agency participates in international networks to identify new risks to the environment early.

Short term action (to 2027)

• Environment Agency to deliver work packages for interventions for chemicals of emerging concern from PEWS to reduce the risks posed on the environment
• Environment Agency to expand monitoring to utilise new innovative techniques such as non-target screening to understand presence in the environment of a much broader range of chemicals (approximately 65,000 substances)
• Environment Agency to extend targeted scanning for further chemicals of emerging concern in the water environment informed by PEWS
• water industry funded Chemicals Investigation Programme to carry out investigations on emerging substances
• Environment Agency to continue delivery of nominations, sifting, screening and prioritisation of further chemicals of emerging concern through PEWS
• Environment Agency to continue international collaboration on chemicals of emerging concern to understand new risks to the environment through the NORMAN network and Partnership for the Assessment of Risk from Chemicals

Medium term action (to 2043)

Environment Agency and partners to continue delivery of work packages for interventions for chemicals of emerging concern from PEWS to reduce the risk from chemicals of emerging concern on the water environment. Some actions will take sustained effort over a longer period of time to see environmental improvement.

Defra and the Environment Agency to ensure consideration of options to improve risk management practices to protect the environment remains up-to-date, keeping pace with newly identified chemical risks and hazards. For instance, this could include consideration of grouping approaches, of mixtures, of persistent, mobile and toxic substances, and further understanding of risks from endocrine disrupting chemicals to inform chemical management.

Water industry improvements to treatment technologies to reduce chemicals of emerging concern (including pharmaceuticals) entering the water and soil environment (delivery is reliant on new innovation for some substances, cost benefit being met for new investment). It is vital to ensure that treatment isn’t simply transferring the risk of chemicals of emerging concern to soil (with potential to enter river catchments via an alternative route).

Water industry schemes arising from chemicals investigation programme; sewage treatment improvements through changes to permit conditions at specific sites

Development of new Environmental Quality Standards for chemicals of emerging concern which pose a high risk to the environment.

5.11.4 Unintentional mixtures of chemicals

The assessment and regulation of chemicals in the water environment is mainly undertaken on an individual substance basis. However, humans and wildlife are exposed to multiple chemicals. There has long been concern that the effects from exposure to a combination of substances could be greater than that expected based on consideration of individual substances. The potential impact of unintentional mixtures of chemicals, and how substances act together to impact the overall level of toxicity to which an organism is exposed, is challenging to assess. The composition of the mixtures to which organisms are exposed will vary both in time and space. The large number of chemicals on the market means it is not possible to assess the potential impact of every combination of chemicals, both in terms of the range of chemicals and the different concentrations potentially present.

The scientific understanding and approaches for dealing with unintentional mixtures have been considered for many years and progress is being made. However, the complexity means this is still an area subject to further research and consideration, both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Whilst joint chemical and ecological monitoring is undertaken at some sites, which will provide some evidence of impacts from combinations of chemicals, there is a need to explore other approaches to supplement this. Understanding of the impact of unintentional mixtures is progressing and this, along with developments in the approaches for assessing unintentional mixtures, needs to be considered in managing and regulating the potential impact of chemicals on the water environment.

The action plan

Short term action (to 2027)

Defra to consider potential policies and approaches for the assessment and regulation of unintentional mixtures of chemicals in the development of the Chemical Strategy.

Environment Agency to maintain awareness of developments in scientific understanding of impacts of unintentional mixtures of chemicals and potential approaches for their assessment and explore the use of relevant approaches. This includes consideration of how the assessment of unintentional mixtures relates to current approaches, for example, the derivation of environmental quality standards and use of current chemical and biological monitoring approaches.

Medium term action (to 2043)

Environment Agency to consider application of approaches for assessing the impact of unintentional mixtures of chemicals in the water environment and collate information that helps determine overall impact of chemical mixtures to the water environment.

5.11.5 Endocrine disrupting chemicals

Some chemical substances have adverse effects by disrupting the endocrine systems of humans and wildlife. The endocrine system involves hormones which are essential for controlling a range of processes, including embryonic development and organ formation in early life stages through to organ functions in mature organisms.

Although discussions are still ongoing in the scientific and regulatory community on identifying and managing endocrine disrupting chemicals, several natural and man-made chemicals have been found to interfere with the normal functioning of endocrine systems of both humans and wildlife, resulting in adverse effects. These include the synthetic hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol and the chemical tributyltin.

The action plan

Discussions on the future policy around endocrine disrupting chemicals is ongoing, both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Current activity includes identifying those substances that have endocrine disrupting effects, assessing their impacts in the environment, and adopting measures to minimise their impact on the water environment. A range of substances are being assessed for endocrine disrupting effects, including biocides, pesticides, and industrial chemicals.

Short term action (to 2027)

• Defra and relevant parties to consider potential policies and approaches for the future assessment and regulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the development of the Chemicals Strategy
• Environment Agency to continue with current monitoring for endocrine disrupting chemicals in the water environment
• Environment Agency to consider what further work is required to enable assessment of the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the water environment

Medium term action (to 2043)

Environment Agency to further control emissions of substances identified as having endocrine disrupting properties. Identify specific priority endocrine disruptors for consideration for regulatory control, for example, development of environmental quality standards.

Environment Agency to undertake further monitoring of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment, including chemical monitoring for key substances of interest and surveys of biota in relation to endocrine disruptor effects.

5.11.6 Managing groups of chemicals

The risk assessment and regulation of chemicals in the water environment is mainly undertaken on an individual substance basis. However, there are many substances currently on the market, with others present in the environment as by-products of processes such as combustion or the breakdown of other substances.

Considering each substance on an individual basis is resource intensive and can result in regrettable substitution of one substance for another. Defining and addressing groups of chemicals is therefore being considered as a better approach, both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

The action plan

This grouping approach is already adopted for some types of substances where there are large number of substances within the group, for example, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. Additional grouping of substances for management purposes could potentially occur based on properties such as similar mode of action, similar chemical structure (as per PCBs) or similar hazardous properties.

Managing groups of chemicals is something that will need to be considered in terms of how substances in the water environment are assessed and regulated, and relates to, for example, how environmental quality standards are derived for groups of substances.

Short term action (to 2027)

Defra to consider the potential management of certain substances as groups rather than on an individual basis in the development of the Chemical Strategy and other relevant work programmes, for example, UK REACH work programme.

Environment Agency to consider how the management of groups of substances could assist in current approaches for assessing and monitoring substances in the environment, for example, the derivation of environmental quality standards or monitoring for groups in addition to individual substances.

Medium term action (to 2043)

Environment Agency to take account of developments in the management of groups of chemicals in future water quality assessment and regulation, where relevant and applicable.

5.11.7 Microplastics

There is increasing concern about the potential impacts of micro-plastics on the environment, wildlife, and human health. There is no consistent definition of micro-plastics, though the developing consensus is that they are synthetic solid particles with a size from 1mm to 5mm, of either primary or secondary manufacturing origin, that are insoluble in water. This includes nurdles (pre-production plastic particles), bio-beads and small plastic particles. Micro-plastics can also arise from the breakdown of litter and macro plastics, textile fibres, tyre wear particles from abrasion on road surfaces and road marking paints. Therefore, to address the challenge of micro-plastics we must also tackle plastic use in general.

The impact of micro-plastics on the environment, food chain or human health is not yet well understood. Laboratory studies have shown that micro-plastics can be ingested and absorbed by aquatic plants, animals (including birds and fish) and invertebrates (including shellfish and earthworms) and that at very high concentrations these can cause harm. In general, these high concentrations are not likely to occur in the environment, although there is limited data on the actual number or mass of plastic particles in water, soils and air. Based on limited environmental measurements, the current levels of micro-plastics in the environment are below the levels shown to cause harm in laboratory studies. Toxic effects depend on the dose, although there is insufficient evidence at present to develop risk-based approaches. However, it is important to note that the current lack of evidence of serious harm to human health, the food chain or the environment is not the same as no effect.

The action plan

The public, the Environment Agency, government, and industry need to improve their understanding of this emerging issue and take decisive action to reduce micro-plastics entering the environment.

Better understanding of the effects on wildlife is an important research gap and studies on the potential impacts on human health and ecosystems are likely to take several years. However, despite the gaps in evidence, the precautionary principle supports action to reduce future releases of plastics to the environment.

As well as the potential impact of micro-plastic particles themselves, there is need to consider the chemical additives which are incorporated into the plastic at manufacture. The Environment Agency is considering chemicals of emerging concern such as these through its Prioritisation and Early Warning System.

The majority of microplastics that enter waste water treatment works end up in biosolids, rather than being discharged directly to the water environment in treated sewage effluent. The Environment Agency has published a sludge strategy to improve regulation of the use of sewage sludge on land.

Further research is needed to understand micro-plastics sources, pathways, and fate in the environment. Regulatory effort in this area has increased, for example, a new publicly available specification standard for pre-production pellets aiding regulation at plastic production sites. Further work will be necessary as we refine our understanding of micro-plastics.

Short term action (to 2027)

Defra is commissioning a new evidence project under the UK REACH work programme to investigate the risks of intentionally added microplastics.

Environment Agency will continue working as a partner in the Interreg funded Preventing Plastic Pollution project, working with individuals, businesses and communities to reduce plastic consumption through adopting a more circular approach to waste.

Water industry to use evidence from the microplastic investigation in the Chemicals Investigation Programme, to seek solutions to reducing the amount of microplastic released to the environment via treated sewage effluent and sewage sludge.

Environment Agency to improve its understanding of new and current risks by reviewing latest evidence such as: National Highways research on understanding micro-plastics from the major road networks to develop best practice guidelines on reducing or removing micro-plastics; Plymouth University tyre wear and textile particles and their pathways research commissioned by Defra; Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) Minimise project; Natural England research measuring micro-plastics in plankton in north east England; Defra commissioned projects on the measurement and characterisation of micro-plastics in river waters and sediments and the Environment Agency pilot to improve groundwater sampling and analysis techniques for micro-plastics.

Medium term action (to 2043)

• National Highways measures to mitigate potential impacts from road run-off
• Environment Agency to work with partners to explore how to improve surveillance monitoring for micro-plastics

5.12 Monitoring 

Water monitoring provides evidence to support management of the water environment. It provides information on the state of the water environment and on the specific environmental pressures affecting water. This enables the effective targeting of improvements.

The monitoring activity that informs river basin management planning is partly funded by government. In recent years this funding has reduced. The Environment Agency must continue taking steps to innovate and make changes to our monitoring approach whilst ensuring that water bodies are appropriately assessed.

The action plan

In 2021, the Environment Agency introduced a new long-term surveillance monitoring programme for rivers called the River Surveillance Network. This is the first network introduced as part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment (NCEA) Programme approach. NCEA is designed to a deliver holistic understanding of natural capital water assets and the services society gets from water. The NCEA will be extended to cover all parts of the water ecosystem at a national (England) and regional scale, including lakes and estuaries, together with atmospheric deposition. These new surveillance networks will provide information on the overall state of the water environment and will be used for state of the environment reporting.

Managing the water environment requires high quality hydrometric data: river flow, level (river, groundwater and wetland) and precipitation. The Floods and Drought Research Infrastructure,a consortium with a £38 million research and investment fund, seeks to promote hydrological science and innovation needed to make the United Kingdom more adaptable and resilient to floods and droughts. The Flood Hydrology Roadmap sets out a vision and a plan for flood hydrology data, methods, models, and expertise over the next 25 years.

Responding to pressures and environmental risks is as important as understanding trends and environmental change. The Environment Agency’s risk based, targeted and prioritised monitoring supports local decision-making in the design of local improvements and the assessment of their effectiveness. Water body status classifications and other assessments are used for objective setting. Classifications and objectives underpin regulatory decision making. They help target advice and other measures at local and national levels.

Short term action (to 2027)

Citizen science can complement the Environment Agency’s own monitoring and assessment work. It provides wider perspectives and understanding for all involved. It can build a broader picture, often with greater spatial and temporal reach and help build confidence in the evidence.

Citizen science is also a great way of engaging people. Helping communities develop a better understanding of their local area can open the door to a shared evidence base and involvement in decision making and actions.

The Environment Agency is working to explore, assess and work with established and emerging citizen science initiatives. It is supporting the Ofwat funded project led by the Rivers Trust, Catchment Systems Thinking Co-operative, enabling the creation of new roles in every local Environment Agency geographical area to engage with and learn from local citizen science initiatives.

Additional resources secured through the Spending Review for monitoring 2022 to 2025 will support our wider understanding of the environment. This does not directly deliver monitoring of water bodies to inform river basin management planning. Funding will allow:

• expansion of the water quality monitoring programme
• launching of pilot projects, for example microplastics, river bathing waters, and juvenile salmon monitoring
• replacement and enhancement of monitoring and environment planning data and systems

Medium term action (to 2043)

The Environment Agency is developing a strategic modern approach to monitoring, looking further forward, and creating the framework for a short (3 to 5 years) and medium (5 to 10 years) term plan of evidence needs. The aim is to evolve the approach to monitoring so that the environment can be mapped and managed more as a system. This will require the use of innovative tools and techniques and unite learning and recommendations from ongoing research and development programmes.