Pollution in rivers, lakes, aquifers and seas

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Pollution in rivers, lakes, aquifers and seas

Pollution in rivers, lakes, aquifers and seas

Water bodies, from rivers to oceans, are under stress from legacy chemicals, emerging pollutants, pharmaceuticals, nanomaterials, microplastics, industrial contaminants, nutrient overload and much more.

Click the links below to read stories on these issues by WATERSHED’s journalists.

Toxic waste lies beneath schools in England and Wales, map shows

Experts say council funding shortfalls mean many old landfills not being dealt with appropriately

Turtle Island and the Black Snake

Native American Anishinaabe people say the Great Lakes are being threatened by an ageing oil pipeline sitting on the bed of the Straits of Mackinac, a volatile waterway connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron

Environment Agency downgrading 93% of prosecutions for serious pollution

Exclusive: leaked internal report adds to concerns cutbacks have undermined England’s regulator.

Staff blow whistle on Environment Agency that ‘no longer deters polluters’

Exclusive: Officers say cuts and operational decisions have made England’s regulator ‘toothless’

Ignore reports of low-impact pollution events, Environment Agency tells staff

Exclusive: river groups appalled by strategy set out in briefing that says agency has capacity to deal with only most severe cases

Government retracts ‘unlawful’ pollution guidance for England’s farms

Advice that allowed farmers to spread manures in a way that risked polluting waters has been changed by Defra

Is this a watershed moment when it comes to sewage in England’s rivers and seas?

After a public outcry, the Tories are realising that effluent-dumping water companies need more than a ticking off

This story first appeared in the following: The Guardian, BBC World Service, The Guardian, The Guardian, The Guardian, The Guardian, The Guardian