Water quality action plan must take flood risk into account, says MEP

3.50.02pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 24th Sep 2009

Flooding at Staverton on the Severn.

Local MEP Liz Lynne has called for co-ordinated action taking pollution and flood risks fully into account after a report that the River Severn and 74% of UK rivers still fail to meet European water quality standards.

The LibDem MEP commented after a new Environment Agency report that showed most rivers fell well short of the EU standard required in 2015, when 95% of rivers are required to be in 'good' or 'pristine' condition.

The River Severn and most of its tributaries are currently graded as 'moderate.' Across the country, only five out of 6114 sampled rivers were found to be pristine, and only 1600 in good condition.

Liz Lynne said: "It is good news that water quality standards in the River Severn and in most rivers within the Severn catchment area are slowly rising. But this report shows we have a very long way to go to get quality up to the level needed by 2015 under the new EU Water Quality Directive, which our government accepted.

"The Severn River Basin covers more than three quarters of my regional constituency. It is vital that the final version of the River Basin action plan due to be published in December gives clear guidance on how we are going to get rivers here up to standard.

"I am also very concerned that action plans being drawn up take account of the increased risks of extreme flooding caused by climate change. As well as phosphates or other agricultural residues, water quality can be drastically affected by chemicals and heavy metals washed into rivers after flooding, as we saw in 2007.

"Councils and the Highways Agency need to make sure they keep drains and channels properly clear to stop flash floods, which can cause appalling pollution as well as kill people."

Liz Lynne MEP was instrumental in the UK's bid for £33 million of aid from the EU Solidarity Fund to offset the cost of dealing with the 2007 floods which caused severe damage in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, with parts of Birmingham also flooding.

ENDS

Notes: According to the Environment Agency, only five of the 6,114 rivers in England and Wales are in pristine condition, and more than three-quarters are expected to fail new European quality standards. 117 English and Welsh rivers are ranked on a par with the dirtiest rivers in eastern Europe, a further 742 are in "poor condition" and 3,654, or 60%, are in "moderate" condition.

Britain signed up in 2000 to the EU Water Framework. The new ecological approach produces a much more accurate picture of water quality. So far, the government has failed to address the wider impacts of farming, housing and water extraction on rivers and drainage. It is estimated that it could cost £9bn to get 95% of UK rivers to "good" status by 2015. If, as expected, this proves impossible, the EU allows interim targets to be set for 2015 and 2021, though potentially large fines could be imposed for failing to comply. The government will publish River Basin Action plans in December, with detailed maps showing exactly what they intend to do to improve water quality in 11 river catchment areas, including the Severn.