Have a say on the issues impacting our water environment
Posted: Tuesday 14th August 2007
Farmers, conservation groups and industry are being invited to have a say about the best ways to tackle significant water management issues, such as diffuse pollution and river flows and abstraction, in an effort to further protect and improve rivers, lakes and groundwater.
River Basin Planning: Summary of significant water management issues is the second step in the process of developing new and better ways in which the Environment Agency and others will work towards achieving the ecological standards defined in the European Water Framework Directive by 2015.
Each of the River Basin Districts across England and Wales will have a management plan covering the land and associated rivers, lakes, groundwater estuaries and coastal waters within the basin. The consultation covers 10 River Basin Districts - Anglian, Dee, Humber, Northumbria, North West, Severn, South East, South West, Thames and Western Wales.
“Over the next two years we will work together with different sectors – from industry to farming representatives and conservation groups – to determine how best to manage water within our river basins,” Water Framework Directive Programme Executive Martin Booth said.
"There has been very good progress in recent years in improving the health of our water environment. But if pressures such as pollution and flow problems are not managed properly in the future, there is a risk that many rivers, lakes and groundwater sites will not meet the environment standards we need to see.
“The Water Framework Directive allows us to think about our water environment as a whole - whereas in the past, we’ve often worked on separate plans for addressing different environmental issues. With river basin planning, we now have the opportunity to improve, protect and manage our water environment in a more integrated way.
“We have set out what we believe are the most significant water management issues facing each River Basin District. These issues may affect your sector, your environmental interests or your business, and your comments will help us prioritise work and identify where environmental improvements are needed," Martin Booth said.
The Environment Agency is using electronic consultations, where people can view other submissions before contributing their own comments online. The consultation and responses can be viewed on the Environment Agency website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfd The consultation Summary of significant water management issues closes on 24 January 2008.
Earlier this year, the first consultative step in the River Basin Planning process, titled Working Together, helped people to understand how river basin planning could work in their River Basin District and how and when people could get involved.
