Some of the country’s most important lakes, rivers, wetland and wildlife sites are in danger of sewage pollution if action is not taken by water companies, warns leading environment agencies.
Sixty per cent of freshwater and wetland Sites of Special Scientific Interest are in an unfavourable position and more cash is needed to deal with the problem. Although investment in the water industry has made a significant difference, too much water is still being extracted from lakes and rivers.
Even the most popular tourist spots in the Lake District are suffering and earmarked for attention is Lake Windermere, with Coniston Water and the River Tees at Thornaby, Middlesbrough needing clean up work.
There are proposals to tackle water quality problems on the Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire and around one in 19 rivers in England and Wales still show ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ quality with the proportion rising to one in eight in built up areas.
The Environment Agency, English Nature and the Countryside Council for Wales set out their priorities for the water industry investment today as part of the review of water company prices for the period 2005-10.
The money invested will bring economic and social benefits to local communities, say the Agencies.
Environment Agency Chief Executive, Baroness Young, said, “The extra cost of the investment will be the price of a fizzy can of drink per week…..water bills will have increased by £ 25 per year, per household at the end of a five-year period.
“It’s good value. Take Lake Windermere, 8.5 million visitors a year go there and it is being proposed as a World Heritage site and most of the people who go there want to take part in water sports.
“Our environment programme asks water companies to invest in improvements to around 4,000 assets across England and Wales.
“This will safeguard some 6,500 kilometres of rivers and over 2,000 kilometres of lakes, ponds, wetlands and coastal waters.
“The healthier and more attractive the environment, the more we will see knock-on benefits for leisure, recreation, tourism and the wider economy, the value of which we estimate to be of the range from £ 5 billion to £ 8 billion.
“We recognise that importance for water customers that improvements are made properly, efficiently and at the lowest possible cost.”
James Marsden, Head of Policy at English Nature said, “This environment programme will not have a big impact on water prices. I used to windsurf on Windermere and many people still do.
“But there were times when you could see algae bloom and it has got worse. It is deteriorating and needs action now.”
