www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/18/the-…

www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/plastic-…

enterprise.dji.com/news/detail/water-sampling-with…

At last - an application for drones that doesn't centre of violation of people's right to privacy!

"Pit lake water sampling is a treacherous, high-risk activity commonly performed by environmental staff at active mine sites around the world...enterprise.dji.com/news/detail/water-sampling-with…

At last - an application for drones that doesn't centre of violation of people's right to privacy!

"Pit lake water sampling is a treacherous, high-risk activity commonly performed by environmental staff at active mine sites around the world. Risks include falling from heights, rock falls, landslides, tsunami, hypothermia, and drowning. Last year, employees from the technology and water groups at Hatch, a leading engineering firm, came together to develop a more innovative process for collecting water samples from flooded pits, tailings ponds, evaporation ponds, and other water bodies, in order to keep staff safe from hazardous risks associated with this task. Pierre Filiatreault, UAV services lead at Hatch explains, "In our line of business, using UAVs can significantly reduce the potential risks associated with hazardous tasks we are faced with. In most cases, UAVs can also collect information more efficiently and at a lower cost. We knew that by incorporating new technology, we could find a better method that supports our core safety values.”" Show more

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/13/bathin…

"Water companies in England should each designate a stretch of river as bathing water by 2025 to drive the cleanup of a chemical cocktail of sewage, agricultural waste and plastic pollution that is suffocating biodiversity and risking public...www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/13/bathin…

"Water companies in England should each designate a stretch of river as bathing water by 2025 to drive the cleanup of a chemical cocktail of sewage, agricultural waste and plastic pollution that is suffocating biodiversity and risking public health, MPs have said."

When you look at the amount of territory that a given water company encompases - one stretch of river seems a relatively tiny step, albeit in the right direction. Show more

www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/bacteria…

"Species that can cause illness in humans were detected in samples from three of these: Chichester Harbour, Osea Island and Whitstable Bay.

Dr Wagley said: “Increasing abundance and diversity of Vibrio bacteria creates health risks not only for...www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/bacteria…

"Species that can cause illness in humans were detected in samples from three of these: Chichester Harbour, Osea Island and Whitstable Bay.

Dr Wagley said: “Increasing abundance and diversity of Vibrio bacteria creates health risks not only for people eating seafood, but for those using the sea for recreation purposes – either due to swallowing infected seawater or from the bacteria entering exposed wounds or cuts.

“Vibrio bacteria are also a threat to a variety of marine species including shellfish themselves.”" Show more

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/11/meet-m…

"Research in 2017 found that 10 river systems transport 90% of all the plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans (two in Africa – the Nile and Niger – with the other eight in Asia: the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Yangtze, Haihe, Pearl, Mekong and...www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/11/meet-m…

"Research in 2017 found that 10 river systems transport 90% of all the plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans (two in Africa – the Nile and Niger – with the other eight in Asia: the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Yangtze, Haihe, Pearl, Mekong and Amur)." Show more

Some good news for a change..

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/14/bugs-a…

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/29/nurdle…

www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19718420.dorset-oys…

"The director of Dorset Oysters said they’ve not had any complaints from their products but claimed the food wouldn’t be contaminated if Wessex Water weren’t “pumping sewage” into the sea. "

"A Wessex Water spokesman said it doesn’t pump sewage into the...www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19718420.dorset-oys…

"The director of Dorset Oysters said they’ve not had any complaints from their products but claimed the food wouldn’t be contaminated if Wessex Water weren’t “pumping sewage” into the sea. "

"A Wessex Water spokesman said it doesn’t pump sewage into the sea, but storm overflows occur during heavy rainfall. "

Bit of a slim distinction don't ya think? Show more

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/14/swimmi…

"In the course of her tour at Swalecliffe, Burtt-Jones asked the Southern Water representative if at the very least the company would agree to pay for technology that could monitor sea water safety in real time. “The bloke behaved as if that idea had...www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/14/swimmi…

"In the course of her tour at Swalecliffe, Burtt-Jones asked the Southern Water representative if at the very least the company would agree to pay for technology that could monitor sea water safety in real time. “The bloke behaved as if that idea had never occurred to him,” she says. There is no doubt a hope from the government that the stink surrounding this issue will fade. I wouldn’t be so sure. Having finally found an issue on which all of the country can agree, groups such as the Whitstable Bluetits – not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who support Surfers Against Sewage and other local protests forming up and down the country – are not going anywhere. “The thing is,” Burtt-Jones says, “this is such a simple issue for anyone to understand. Even very small children get it: when they go to the beach, they don’t want to find that the sea is full of poo.”" Show more

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/08/move-t…

"A government compromise aimed, ministers said, at cutting raw sewage dumping by water companies was passed by MPs on Monday after Conservative rebels backed ministers."

"The government amendment passed on Monday states: “A sewerage undertaker...www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/08/move-t…

"A government compromise aimed, ministers said, at cutting raw sewage dumping by water companies was passed by MPs on Monday after Conservative rebels backed ministers."

"The government amendment passed on Monday states: “A sewerage undertaker whose area is wholly or mainly in England must secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impact of discharges from the undertaker’s storm overflows … reducing adverse impacts on the environment, and reducing adverse impacts on public health.”"

So it's focused on storm overflows and that's fine by me as that's when the untreated sewage arrives in Poole Harbour Show more

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/01/uk-ran…

(This article is from June 1st 2021 but it is increasingly relevant)

"The 2020 data will be the last to include the UK. The EEA includes EU member states and non-members such as Turkey, Iceland and Switzerland, but the UK has chosen to opt out of...www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/01/uk-ran…

(This article is from June 1st 2021 but it is increasingly relevant)

"The 2020 data will be the last to include the UK. The EEA includes EU member states and non-members such as Turkey, Iceland and Switzerland, but the UK has chosen to opt out of EEA membership post-Brexit, meaning no such comparisons will be possible in future."

So - because "Most of the UK’s bathing sites were not classified in 2020..because Covid-19 restrictions prevented sampling" the UK can ignore 2020-21 and now it gets to drop out of the league completely (there's probably a football term about relegation there but that isn't my world).

How is it that every other country can sample their water during Covid but we can't?

By comparison "About 6% of the sites normally monitored across Europe could not be reached because of Covid-19 restrictions."

Recent events in Parliament vs The People have on this topic have shown quite how deeply out of touch our current government is on matters like these, and the dropping out of any comparison with Europe would seem to be a strong statement of intent. Show more

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/government-george-eusti…

"The Government has climbed down over refusing to implement legal controls on water companies to prevent them from dumping raw sewage into rivers and seas following a voter backlash.

Labour has accused ministers of conducting a U-turn in the face of...www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/government-george-eusti…

"The Government has climbed down over refusing to implement legal controls on water companies to prevent them from dumping raw sewage into rivers and seas following a voter backlash.

Labour has accused ministers of conducting a U-turn in the face of public anger after Conservative MPs were last week whipped to vote down an amendment to the Environment Bill that would have placed legal obligations on water companies to stop polluting England’s waterways during heavy rainfall.

But, despite ordering MPs to defeat the proposal, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Tuesday said the bill would be “further strengthened” as it looks to put in place a “duty enshrined in law” to ensure water companies “secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows”.

The department said the amendment that would be brought forward in the Commons during the next stage of the Bill would be “very similar to amendment 45”, which peers were debating in the House of Lords on Tuesday – a vote the Government lost, as had been widely expected." Show more

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59040175

The House of Lords will push back but this comment from Tory MP Julie Marsden who voted against the bill was interesting:

"..the existing legislation already placed a new duty on water companies to continuously monitor the water quality upstream and...www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59040175

The House of Lords will push back but this comment from Tory MP Julie Marsden who voted against the bill was interesting:

"..the existing legislation already placed a new duty on water companies to continuously monitor the water quality upstream and downstream of a storm overflow and of sewage disposal works."

Continuously monitor how? What?

E. Coli needs to be cultured on a petri dish so that's useless for determining whether it's safe to swim today

Simple on/off of CSOs is misleading unless you measure the amount that is being discharged.

Not collecting a simple measurement like volume of discharge is at the heart of the problem Show more

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10128255/Water-fi…

"Britain's polluted beaches and rivers: Maps reveal beauty spots where sewage is dumped by water firms as campaigners demand end to practice after MPs voted against amendment"

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/20/mps-se…

"Government opposes proposed amendment to environment bill designed to protect rivers"

..this despite it being approved by the House of Lords. I fully agree with SAS - it doesn't make any sense and seems to go completely against current thinking on...www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/20/mps-se…

"Government opposes proposed amendment to environment bill designed to protect rivers"

..this despite it being approved by the House of Lords. I fully agree with SAS - it doesn't make any sense and seems to go completely against current thinking on the environment

But I guess the government can cater to whoever they want now that the UK has left the EU, and the voters would
appear to be very low down their list of priorities Show more

amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/13/boss-o…

"The heads of the five largest privatised companies – Southern Water, South West Water, Northumbrian, Severn Trent and Thames Water – were questioned on Wednesday over discharges of raw effluent into rivers.

Just 14% of rivers in England are...amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/13/boss-o…

"The heads of the five largest privatised companies – Southern Water, South West Water, Northumbrian, Severn Trent and Thames Water – were questioned on Wednesday over discharges of raw effluent into rivers.

Just 14% of rivers in England are rated as of good ecological status, and MPs have heard that a “chemical cocktail” of pollutants is damaging waterways.

In 2020 water firms discharged sewage into rivers via storm overflow pipes more than 400,000 times. Pressure has been growing to end the use of rivers as dumping grounds."

This issue is cropping up a lot more often in the mainstream media- BeachPeople is ahead of the curve by a long way naturally ... Show more

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/13/toilet…

More on Mar Menor - the festering lagoon in the Med

The latest culprit for killing all the fish and turning the sea cloudy are the thousands of piggeries discharging into what is semi-stagnant water.

Something that I've not heard of before - creating 'ocean pastures' to sequester CO2 from the water in the form of kelp.

"In nature, sprinklings of iron-rich dust blow from deserts or volcanic eruptions, onto the surface of deep oceans, generating – in a matter of months – rich ocean pastures,...Something that I've not heard of before - creating 'ocean pastures' to sequester CO2 from the water in the form of kelp.

"In nature, sprinklings of iron-rich dust blow from deserts or volcanic eruptions, onto the surface of deep oceans, generating – in a matter of months – rich ocean pastures, teeming fish stocks and an array of marine wildlife. Studies of ocean kelp regeneration show the full range of real-life impacts, from increased protein sources for human consumption, to restoration of pre-industrial levels of ocean biodiversity and productivity, and extensive carbon sequestration.

Extending the scale and number of ocean pastures could be achieved by systematically scattering iron-rich dust onto target areas in oceans around the world. The approach is intuitively scalable, and could sequester perhaps 30 billion tons per year of CO2 if 3% or so of the world’s deep oceans were to be treated annually."


theconversation.com/climate-repair-three-things-we…

.. Show more

www.sas.org.uk/news/exposed-dirty-dozen

Here's the full SAS report without spin

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