Environment watchdog chief seeks to put the record straight on water quality

In a speech Water myths, facts and inconvenient truths, given at last week’s World Water-Tech Innovation Summit, Environment Agency (EA) chief executive, Sir James Bevan welcomed the surge of interest in the water environment but pointed out “not everything being said is accurate”. He said “we need to start with the facts” and went on to list the items in the speech's title.

Myths

• water is in a terrible state – “that’s wrong” he said, accepting it is “flatlining” now but is significantly improved on metrics including pollutions and bathing water quality;

• the state of rivers is all the EA’s fault – he said the EA needs to play its full part but “so does everything else” including corporate and individual polluters; and

• the biggest water problem is water quality – water quantity, he said, was a bigger issue, referencing his "jaws of death" speech.

Facts

• water is more precious than we think;

• farming is doing as much damage to our waters as sewage – if we are serious about improvement, he said, we need as much focus on farming as on water companies; and

• the EA does a lot to protect water, including its responses to thousands of incidents a year.

Inconvenient truths

• you get the environment you pay for – he said polluters don’t pay the full cost of the damage they cause and that he would like to see bigger deterrents for polluters, water companies investing more and government boosting EA funding and consumers paying “a fair price for it”;

• climate change may make things worse; and

• If we want better outcomes, we need to think differently.