Environment Agency

  • Blue substance prompts bathing warning

    Blue substance prompts bathing warning

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    A bright blue substance discovered in Littleham Brook, in Exmouth, Devon, has prompted the Environment Agency to advise people against bathing as a precaution. Officers attended the site after receiving a report of the unknown substance and found no visible environmental impacts. The agency said the source was traced to an industrial site, but the…

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  • Electric patrol boat Blackwater Joule begins work on the Thames

    Electric patrol boat Blackwater Joule begins work on the Thames

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    The Environment Agency has taken a step forward in reducing the carbon emissions of commercial workboats in the UK by launching the electric Blackwater Joule. THE new RS Pulse 63 RIB will be used for river enforcement and regular patrols to ensure all boats on the river are fully registered, as well as monitoring and…

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  • Restoration work transforms Sprotbrough Ings

    Restoration work transforms Sprotbrough Ings

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    A major conservation effort is underway at Sprotbrough Ings, near Doncaster, as the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT) reshapes an historic water meadow to restore natural processes and improve conditions for wildlife. The site, owned by the Environment Agency, contains an ancient channel of the River Don and plays a crucial role during flood events,…

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  • £60,000 boost for fish passage in River Teign catchment

    £60,000 boost for fish passage in River Teign catchment

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    The Westcountry Rivers Trust is to receive £60,000 to fund river barrier removal in the Teign catchment. Through Environment Agency intervention, Valley Pet Crematorium in Paignton has agreed to pay the money as part of efforts to improve passage for salmon and other fish in the area. The company had failed to obtain the correct…

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  • £5.2m revamp for safer summer on eastern waterways

    £5.2m revamp for safer summer on eastern waterways

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    Boaters are set to benefit from a £5.2 million programme of improvements across Anglian Waterways – but campaigners say the figure just isn’t enough. WORK carried out at more than 14 sites – from Northamptonshire to Norfolk – are designed to boost safety, reliability and environmental quality, ensuring rivers remain open and accessible to thousands…

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  • Two Great Reasons Combine to Get People Fishing This Summer

    Two Great Reasons Combine to Get People Fishing This Summer

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    wo major trade-backed initiatives – Take a Friend Fishing and National Fishing Month – combine this summer to provide even more compelling reasons to get out on the bank and enjoy some fishing. Throughout the summer holidays, Take A Friend Fishing (organised by the Angling Trades Association) provides the perfect excuse to grab a mate…

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  • Campaign cruise to highlight funding crisis threatening the Great Ouse

    Campaign cruise to highlight funding crisis threatening the Great Ouse

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    Boaters will travel from St Ives to Bedford this July in a bid to highlight what campaigners describe as a critical lack of investment in the River Great Ouse and Britain’s inland waterways. A FLEET of boats will cruise the River Great Ouse from St Ives to Bedford this month as part of a campaign…

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  • Expanding citizen science on England’s waterways

    Expanding citizen science on England’s waterways

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    A pilot project testing a digital tool that lets you report on the health of your local waterways in real time, directly from your phone, ends next month. BluePrint, developed by the Environment Agency in partnership with Hello Lamp Post, follows WaterWatch, a year-long pilot that gathered public observations at five bathing water sites. The…

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  • Biggest boat clean-up in a decade underway on Upper Thames

    Biggest boat clean-up in a decade underway on Upper Thames

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    ‘Sunk, wrecked, abandoned – they’ve got to go,’ says Environment Agency as Thames boat crackdown continues “Sunk, wrecked, abandoned – they’ve got to go.” That is the message from the Environment Agency’s deputy director of navigation as 53 boats have already been removed in an ongoing crackdown on the non-tidal Thames. The agency is on…

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  • Call for evidence launches on pet flea and tick treatments in UK waterways

    Call for evidence launches on pet flea and tick treatments in UK waterways

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    A NEW call for evidence to address the presence of chemicals from flea and tick treatments in rivers and streams across the UK has launched. Recent research funded by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) found the application of certain flea and tick treatments by pet owners is contributing to these chemicals being detected in watercourses.…

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  • Repeat boat registration offenders return to court after failing to pay Thames fees

    Repeat boat registration offenders return to court after failing to pay Thames fees

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    Seven repeat boat owners have appeared in court for a second time after failing to pay annual Environment Agency registration fees on the non-tidal River Thames. The cases follow patrols at Penton Hook marina and form part of ongoing enforcement action against registration evasion. Seven reoffending boat owners have faced a second appearance in court…

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  • CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS to UK Waterways Raised in Parliament

    CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS to UK Waterways Raised in Parliament

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    Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Waterways have heard urgent expert evidence on the growing impacts of climate change on the UK’s inland waterways, including canals, rivers and low-lying navigation systems. Meeting under the secretariat of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), the APPG received evidence from the Canal & River Trust (CRT)…

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  • SLURRY OVERFLOW From dairy leads to major river pollution and court fine

    SLURRY OVERFLOW From dairy leads to major river pollution and court fine

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    A firm has been prosecuted for allowing cattle slurry to overflow from a lagoon, polluting a nearby river for four kilometres.  Manor Farm Dairy Ltd, of Manor Farm, Hilfield, Dorchester, appeared before Taunton Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to an offence of causing a discharge of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into a local river.…

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  • FARMER FINED for slurry pollution

    FARMER FINED for slurry pollution

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    A FARMER has been ordered to pay £7048 for illegally discharging slurry into a river due to a leaking pipe.  Timothy Juckes, 48, of Tredington, near Tewkesbury, pleaded guilty to illegally discharging slurry into the River Swilgate, on November 14 and 15, 2022. He was fined £1086 and ordered to pay costs of £5528.50 and…

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