Improving the North West’s Bathing Waters and Rivers

Background

To help improve the water quality of the North West’s bathing waters and rivers we are carrying out surveys to identify possible sources of pollutants. The results of these surveys will help to inform future work carried out by us, other organisations or voluntary groups to improve our water environment for people and wildlife.

 Bathing Waters and Water Framework Directive River Walk Surveys

In the last 20 years water quality has improved dramatically in the North West, however new stricter standards under the revised onclick="window.open(this.href);return(false);" onkeypress="window.open(this.href);return(false);">Bathing Waters Directive  and the Water Framework Directive  mean we need to take a more thorough approach to addressing our river monitoring to address some of the pollution issues facing our rivers and beaches.

Between October 2011 and March 2012 our consultants (APEM) will be carrying out field surveys along the banks of rivers and their tributaries to identify the issues impacting the water environment and nearby coastal areas. These include: 

• Sewage treatment, including septic tanks and sewer overflows
• Industrial/commercial premises and drains
• Construction sites
• Leisure activities such as 4x4 and off-roading tracks
• Forestry and woodland areas
• Agricultural land or premises
• Off-farm waste land-spreading activities which utilise agricultural land
• Roads and related drainage
• and misconnections

 

Further information

Email: nwsouthfolder@environment-agency.gov.uk