Government wins High Court case over River Wye pollution

The government has won a legal challenge brought by environmental campaigners over pollution in the River Wye.

River Action had said that although they had lost the case they believed it had led to changes in the way the Environment Agency enforces laws around farming.“We are working to implement a more preventative, advice-led approach to monitoring and enforcement,” a spokesman said adding: “Anyone caught breaching environmental laws faces enforcement action, up to and including prosecution.”

These rules, introduced in 2018, are designed to stop fertilisers running off farmers' fields into streams and rivers. Studies by Lancaster University have shown that 70% of the phosphate in the River Wye catchment comes from agriculture. “There is no dispute in this case that there are water quality issues in the Wye related to phosphate limits being exceeded within the catchment.”

"Thanks to River Action bringing its claim, the Environment Agency has changed its approach to enforcing the Farming Rules for Water," River Action's chairman Charles Watson said after Friday's ruling.

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