RiverActionUK

🚨 BREAKING 🚨 River Action has launched a legal challenge against @NatResWales after it approved three poultry mega-farm expansions in the Wye and Severn river catchments. Pollution doesn’t stop at the farm gate. But @NatResWales thinks its regulatory responsibility does. Unless challenged, this creates a regulatory gap, allowing #factoryfarms to expand while rivers continue to suffer. 🔽 riveractionuk.com/news/river-act…

We are out over Easter filming underwater in various rivers. Not fish sadly but pollution. Never imagined pollution filming would take up 50% of my time. But here we are. #pollution #rivers

🚨 The UK is considering relaxing planning rules for factory farms, following heavy industry lobbying. A new draft policy could make it easier to approve intensive livestock developments - raising the bar for refusing applications, even on environmental grounds. So what does that mean in practice? 👇 More factory farms = more 💩💩. And that waste doesn’t stay put. It’s spread across land throughout river catchments, then washed into waterways like the Wye and the Severn - fuelling nutrient pollution, toxic algal blooms, and severe ecological decline ☠️ The planning system and environmental permitting are supposed to prevent this before damage is done. But right now, regulators like Natural Resources Wales are failing to properly account for the cumulative, downstream impacts of the factory farms they approve. That’s why River Action is taking legal action. ⚖️ Our judicial review challenges NRW’s failure to fully assess river pollution risks - and to use its existing legal powers to prevent environmental harm. Because our rivers can’t speak for themselves. #RescueOurRivers theguardian.com/environment/20…

Special delivery… 👀🚫💩 → 📦 🚨BREAKING: Farmers across England are returning toxic sewage sludge straight back to water companies’ doorsteps. Return to sender. Done. Why? Because farmers have been on the receiving end of this for years - with sludge spread on land, seeping into rivers, impacting soil, food, wildlife… Now they’re keeping it simple: “No thanks, mate - back it goes.” 👋 ➡️ Too good to be true? Read the full report: riveractionuk.com/news/farmers-a… #SewageSludge #ChalkstreamHerald #April1st

Justice for Lough Neagh: The First Hearing 👇 This week, River Action took part in the first hearing of a legal case which, for the first time, asks the court to decide whether the Northern Ireland government is doing enough to tackle the water pollution crisis in Lough Neagh... riveractionuk.com/news/justice-f…

And here's the full Isle of Sh*te picture. Total sewage spills last year. Check out the interactive map here: watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-whats…

🚨NEWS: Sewage spills still choking UK waters.. New Environment Agency data shows a drop in storm overflow spills in 2025. But don’t be fooled. This isn’t real progress. it’s the result of one of the driest years on record. Less rain = fewer spills. It’s that simple. Water companies are still failing to fix broken treatment plants, stop leaks and continue to cash in while rivers, coasts and wetlands pay the price - and regulators are failing to act. With the Water Reform Bill on the horizon, this is a once-in-a-generation chance to fix a broken system. We need real investment, real accountability, and public money spent on clean water, NOT lining investor pockets. Read more: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… #EndSewagePollution #RescueOurRivers

“A fisherman shouldn’t have to go to court to protect the UK’s largest lake.” Declan Conlon is a third-generation eel fisherman on Lough Neagh. For him, this isn’t just a job - it’s a way of life built on generations of knowledge, heritage, and care for the lough. But Lough Neagh is in crisis. Pollution continues year after year, and the damage is becoming impossible to ignore. His case asks a simple but urgent question: are environmental laws truly being enforced to protect it? — River Action UK is stepping in to help answer that. By intervening in this case alongside @foe_ni , River Action will support the Court in assessing whether @daera_ni is complying with its legal duties to protect Lough Neagh. Drawing on recent legal cases on agricultural waste and nutrient pollution in England, our aim is clear: to ensure @daera_ni puts in place strong, enforceable measures to reduce pollution and restore the health of the lough and its internationally important habitats. riveractionuk.com/news/fisherman…

🚨 NEWS! A High Court challenge has been launched against @daera_ni over the Lough Neagh pollution crisis. River Action will join fishermen and clean water campaigners outside the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast this morning, calling for urgent action. 📢🪧 Lough Neagh - the largest lake in the UK and Ireland, supplying around 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water - is in serious decline. Years of toxic algal blooms and ecological damage are now so severe they can be seen from space. River Action UK, alongside @foe_ni, is intervening in this case to support the Court in assessing whether environmental laws are being properly enforced. Drawing on major legal cases on agricultural waste and nutrient pollution in England, our message is clear: strong, enforceable action is needed now to cut pollution and restore the health of Lough Neagh. Because this vital ecosystem - and the communities that depend on it - cannot wait any longer. riveractionuk.com/news/fisherman…

TONIGHT - free online @RiverActionUK event: Remember to Remember, a film about Wye Ceremonial Team’s work responding to ecological crisis through creativity, love, and collective action. eventbrite.com/e/film-screeni…

The UK is running out of drinking water. Yes, really. The UK is one of the wettest countries in Europe. Yet by 2055, England could face a 5 billion litre daily water shortfall without urgent action. So how did we get here? We have spent decades over-abstracting our rivers, draining wetlands, and failing to build new reservoirs. At the same time, temperatures are rising, droughts are becoming more frequent, and demand for water continues to grow. When it does rain, our landscapes no longer hold water as they should. Hardened cities, deforested hills, and degraded soils send water rushing into the sea - often causing floods along the way. But there is hope. With the right leadership and investment, this crisis is solvable. We can fix leaking pipes, restore wetlands, reduce abstraction, reuse water, and work with nature to store it in the landscape. What we need now is urgent action. It is time to declare a national freshwater emergency and deliver a funded plan to secure our water future. Because if we don’t act now, Britain will run dry. #WorldWaterDay

Ambitious about being green, @LidlGB? Then it’s time to back farmers to transition to nature-friendly farming practices. Agriculture is the largest source of pollution in UK rivers - but it doesn’t have to be this way. Lidl continues to use the @RedTractorFood label to reassure shoppers that their food meets environmental standards. But did you know that it was ruled that @RedTractorFood misled shoppers with its environmental claims - with over 60% of inspected Red Tractor farms not compliant with environmental rules? Meanwhile, others are showing what’s possible. Initiatives like First Milk’s work in the Cleddau - supporting grazing systems that improve soil health and protect rivers - are already making a difference. So, will @LidlGB #UpYourStandards and unlock the finance farmers need to support this transition? ... 📢 TAKE ACTION ⬇️⬇️ Behind the @RedTractorFood logo, pollution of the UK’s rivers continues. Tell your supermarket to call out Red Tractor and lead the way for robust environmental standards on their products: bit.ly/3J5PhDP #RescueOurRivers

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded funding from @HeritageFundUK to investigate the decline of water crowfoot in the River Wye and River Usk. We hope our work will help efforts to recover this key species. Read all about it: friendsoftheriverwye.org.uk/news/heritage-…

Superbugs resistant to antibiotics are rising fast. I tested water at Lough Neagh (40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water) & found high levels of antibiotic-resistant genes from human & livestock poo. If we treat waters like sewers, this is what we get. theguardian.com/environment/20…

Well colour us surprised… 🙃 South West Water has admitted 18 pollution offences across Devon and Cornwall after years of illegal sewage spills affecting rivers, beaches and protected wildlife habitats. The charges relate to incidents between 2015–2021 and come after the same company was fined £2.15m in 2023 for 13 similar offences. And here we are again. Still swimming in sewage while polluters continue to profit. 💩💩 📢The government must STOP pandering to polluters. 👇 ✍️ Please sign the petition with @surfersagainstsewage and tell Keir Starmer to end the #sewagescandal. Head to the link in their bio. 🔗 bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… #EndSewagePollution #RescueOurRivers

Today the Court delivered its ruling on River Action’s legal challenge against @Ofwat.👇 Last autumn, we took @Ofwat to court to protect customers from the risk of paying twice for the same environmental improvements while our rivers continue to suffer from sewage pollution. The Court did not find Ofwat’s approach unlawful. However, our case has shone a light on serious regulatory mistakes and gaps and highlighted the urgent need for reform. Our focus now is on pushing for the major regulatory changes needed to ensure real oversight and enforcement - so water companies are properly held to account and sewage pollution is stopped for good. This judgment doesn’t mean the water regulator shouldn’t do better. It can, and it must. riveractionuk.com/news/campaign-… #RescueOurRivers #EndSewagePollution

Frustrated by the lack of action from Government and water companies on toxic sludge? 🤬 Make your voice heard. Respond to the Sludge Commission consultation today and help drive the change we urgently need. 👇 kit.riveractionuk.com/river-rescue-k…

Our Head of Campaigns, Amy Fairman, spoke on Countryfile last night to discuss the dangers of toxic sewage sludge. 💩☣️ What needs to change: 👇 1️⃣ Contaminants must be removed from sewage sludge before it’s spread on land. 2️⃣ Proper regulation and monitoring of what’s in it. 3️⃣ Effective treatment processes to make it safe. 4️⃣ And crucially, the companies producing the contaminants should pay, not farmers, food producers, or the public. Farmers shouldn’t be left carrying the risk of pollution created elsewhere. 🌾

Flea treatment - The silent river killer ☠️ Flea & worm treatments for cats/dogs are overprescribed, used unnecessarily within routine health plans, & contain neonicotinoids which can contaminate the rivers causing huge damage to ecosystems and their insect life. Pls share. 🙏

📢 It’s International Women’s Day, and we’re celebrating the incredible women standing up for our rivers. ✊💙 From swimmers to scientists, campaigners to community organisers, paddlers to citizen scientists, lawyers to storytellers - women across the UK are leading the charge to hold polluters to account and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. To every woman raising her voice for our waterways: your leadership, passion and determination are driving the movement to #rescueourrivers. #InternationalWomensDay

Call me Mr Bastard, but might I suggest a prison sentence would be more of a deterrent than a fine the consumers will inevitably end up paying?