Waking up to Water Quality

Nutrients (phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium) are essential for plant growth and are found at balanced levels in healthy soils. On the Levels and Moors nutrient loads are too high which has resulted in the huge growth of plant species (duckweed and algae) on the water surface of the ditch systems on the Levels. This blocks out sunlight killing other aquatic plant species, preventing photosynthesis and reducing oxygen levels in the water.  

These conditions cause a significant decrease in the biodiversity of the water courses killing invertebrates and fish that require oxygenated water. In turn, the birds that feed on these species will most likely lose their food source.

There's not one single cause or source of this pollution. For far too long we have failed to recognise the value of our water courses, and the importance of protecting them, instead treating them as a glorified rubbish bin for chemicals - fertilizers, washing detergents and other pollutants, human and animal waste, and more.

The Environment Agency released figures in 2020 showing that only 14% of English rivers are of good ecological standard and none reached good chemical status. For more on this we recommend you watch the Rivercide documentary. 

Good land management practices such as the use of cover crops and buffer strips, reduced use of fertilizers and careful management of slurry and livestock can also play a vital role. 

With the changes coming to the agri-environment subsidies and the introduction of the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, land owners must be incentivised to go beyond legal compliance by delivering natural solutions to improve water quality, which could include creation of wetland / reed bed habitat or flood plain that can slow or hold water that can break down nutrients into the soils and prevent them entering the water course. 

Phosphate removal is difficult. It takes time - probably up to 80 years, but reductions may be achieved in shorter timescales by storing water in soils for longer allowing phosphates to be absorbed into the soils and broken down, or allowing water to flow through reed beds that suck out phosphates as the water passes through.

The Government has announced it will review the Habitat Regulations, the legislative framework for all these designations. It is essential that they are strengthened, not weakened, with proper resource for government agencies to be able to enforce these regulations.

In August 2020 Natural England wrote to all Somerset planning authorities advising them that the unfavourable water condition of the Ramsar site should be given ‘due consideration’ before granting planning applications based on recent caselaw known as the ‘Dutch Nitrogen’ case (legal summary here). The result of this requires all new developments to demonstrate ‘phosphate neutrality’ to avoid increasing the phosphate load within the Ramsar.

• Think very carefully about what goes into your toilet or down your plug hole. Find out more about the Three Ps here. Fats, oils and greases here.
• Check your home for misconnections and sort them out, some advice here.
• Make sure your cleaning products are phosphate free.
• Report pollution incidents immediately to the Environment Agency 0800 80 70 60 or Wessex Water 0345 600 4 600 (who will also inform the EA). Signs of pollution can include a sewage smell, dead or gasping fish, cloudy water or items like toilet paper and wipes.
• Support local farmers who are reducing fertilizer use and actively improving soil health.
• Hold the government to account by writing to your MP and DEFRA asking for the Habitat Regulations review to ensure water quality requirements are strengthened and enforced with sufficient funding for statutory agencies; and to support farmers to manage their land differently to improve soil health, water quality and all the biodiversity benefits that brings.

Write your own letter of supporter with the template below.

• With The Wildlife Trusts nationally, call for strong legislation through the Habitat Review to improve water quality, and for landowners to be incentivised to manage their land reducing nutrients and removing them from the catchment
• Call for existing laws to be followed with  funded, stronger enforcement mechanisms for those who pollute, whether landowners, businesses, individuals, developers or water companies. 
• Manage our sites without increasing the phosphate load and look for opportunities to remove phosphates from the system through our land management.
• Continue to work with communities to promote wider understanding of the challenges facing our wetlands and waterways, from source to sea – including expanding our Water Guardian volunteer programme in partnership with Wessex Water. Water Guardians are volunteers who are trained to spot and report pollutions, monitor key indicators of water quality such as phosphates and litter pick along their local stretch of river.