Wildlife risk as household chemicals are found in all English rivers

Helena Horton

CHEMICALS from household products have been found in every river in England, a report has revealed.

The waterways survey found agricultural, industrial and household pollutants contaminate all surface water.

No surface water was marked “good” for chemical pollution, a turnaround from the last study in 2016, when 97 per cent of surface water was thought to be free from chemicals.

New Environment Agency sampling methods, which look at the flesh of fish and shellfish, found PFAS chemicals used in cosmetics and cleaning products; and mercury, from burning waste and fuel, in all of England’s waterways. Just 14 per cent of rivers were marked as ecologically “good”.

The proportion of waters in good health in England is one of the worst in Europe, with a European average of 40 per cent of surface waters rated good.

England’s rivers and lakes are also the UK’S least healthy, with waterbodies in Scotland at 65.7 per cent, Wales at 64 per cent and 31.3 per cent of rivers in Northern Ireland classed as “good”.

A wide range of household cleaning products use dangerous PFAS chemicals, but they are being phased out under UK and EU law. For example, Scotchguard used to be a major source of PFAS chemical pollution but a new formulation devised in 2001 meant it is now free of the chemicals.

Wildlife charities said the Government’s 25-year environment plan target for 75 per cent of waterbodies to be in good condition “as soon as possible” (ahead of the 2027 target for all waters) was “all but unachievable”. Ministers said the worrying report showed a need for urgent action.

Rebecca Pow, an environment minister, said: “These results show we have a long way to go, with a new way of testing for chemicals more accurately reflecting what is in our water environment. We are absolutely committed to achieving the water quality ambitions in our 25-year environment plan to improve at least three quarters of our waters to be as close to their natural state as soon as possible.”

Ms Pow met water companies earlier this month to discuss their pollution and environmental responsibilities.

Currently, millions of tons of sewage and other polluting waste are pumped into our rivers by water companies each year. While a large amount of the polluting chemicals found in England’s waters are the result of agriculture, the British public has also been warned to reduce its use of household chemicals.

Environment Agency sources urged the public to stop flushing wet wipes and cleaning chemicals. Ideally, they said, people would start to use fewer polluting chemicals in the home.

Nature charities said the state of Britain’s rivers had put wildlife at risk.

The report found significant water pollution at Poole Harbour site of special scientific interest in Dorset, with more than 2,000 tons of nitrogen from rivers and wastewater treatment works coming into the harbour annually, resulting in profound ecological changes. This is likely to be putting the shelduck at risk, with its decline linked by Natural England to an increase in algal mat cover hindering its ability to feed.

Beccy Speight, the RSPB chief executive, said: “Our waterways are the lifeblood of our environment. But we are wrecking these incredible natural treasures through pollution and by extracting and draining too much water away. It is time for the Government to face up to the fact that international and UK targets meant to protect nature have failed – only legally binding targets and transparent, properly funded monitoring will lead to real change for nature.”