Environment watchdog boss tells farmers to ‘do better’ on river pollution

20 February 2024, 16:38

The head of the environment watchdog has ordered farmers to clean up their act on river pollution, telling them it is time to “take their medicine”.

Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency for England, told the National Farmers Union (NFU) on Tuesday that pollution from agriculture and rural land is “roughly equal [to] that coming from the water industry”.

It comes amid widespread public outcry over the state of the nation’s waterways, with water companies and farms leaking sewage, fertilisers and manure into rivers, lakes and coastlines.

Campaigners say the River Wye is in a “death spiral” due to the chicken faeces coming from intensive farms along its banks, feeding bright green algal blooms that choke other river life.

The farms help feed Britain’s growing appetite for eggs, which rose by 12% in one year in 2022, according to environment department (Defra) data.

Speaking at the annual NFU conference in Birmingham, Mr Lovell said: “Let’s clear out these pollution incidents and do it better.”

He presented “uncomfortable” photos of dirty waterways next to farms, along with Defra figures showing that farms account for 40% of river pollution, compared with 36% from water companies.

The numbers are “not good”, said Mr Lovell, who was also criticised during a Q&A; session with farmers who accused him of failing them over flooding ruining their land.

“This is a two-way street,” he said. “I’ll take my medicine on flooding, and other aspects. But please will you take yours?”

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The watchdog chair said he “understands the challenges” for farmers, including lack of awareness and “financial pressures”.

Farmers are battling a squeeze on prices from supermarkets, vastly higher gas and fertiliser prices, inflation and rain and flood damage.

These have led to a contraction in the sector, the NFU says, with 7,000 fewer agricultural businesses in the UK in 2022 than in 2019.

Meanwhile, water companies have handed out multi-million pound dividends, although they are about to increase investment.

Mr Lovell said the historical underinvestment by water companies was “appalling, and they know it”.

The NFU claimed the sampling for pollution figures was not comprehensive enough because it doesn’t include all pollutants.

But its president Minette Batters has admitted there is a problem.

“Where there is a problem, we need to be able to sort it out,” she told Sky News after Mr Lovell’s address. “Agriculture has a part to play.”

She said farmers need better access to subsidies – known as the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) – to create buffer strips along waterways.

They also need much faster planning permission for slurry storage and incentives to grow the right crops in the right places, she added.

The NFU is currently resisting a legal attempt by campaigners to force the Environment Agency to become more strict with water pollution rules for farmers.

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