28 h. ago Polluting water bosses face up to two years in jail for illegal sewage spills

Senior executives will also be banned from accepting bonuses if firms fail to meet Environment Agency’s standards

Events

58 h. ago ‘I spent five days in hospital’: Surge in swimmers falling ill from polluted UK waters

Diseases such as dysentry and Weil’s disease have led to swimmers and surfers becoming seriously unwell

Science

4 d. ago Shocking state of Britain’s waters revealed as bathing spots with potentially deadly bacteria double

Surge in coastlines, rivers and lakes with unsafe levels of E. coli and intestinal enterococci due to sewage spills

Events

4 d. ago Grassroots activists who took on corruption and corporate power share 2025 Goldman prize

Seven winners of environmental prize include Amazonian river campaigner and Tunisian who fought against organised waste traffickingIndigenous river campaigner from Peru honouredGrassroots activists who helped jail corrupt officials and obtain personhood rights for a sacred Amazonian river are among this year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious environmental prize.The community campaigns led by the seven 2025 Goldman prize winners underscore the courage and tenacity of local activists willing to confront the toxic mix of corporate power, regulatory failures and political corruption that is fuelling biodiversity collapse, water shortages, deadly air pollution and the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Former Real Madrid and Liverpool star reveals health scare and thanks doctors for 'saving his life'

A former Liverpool and Real Madrid star has opened up on a health battle that left him 'scared to death'. The former player suffered a pulmonary embolism.

Society

8 d. ago Kicking up a stink: row over sewage pollution blighting Cape Town’s beaches

Campaigners say authorities should be doing more to clean up waters around city of nearly 5 million peopleOn a clear summer’s day in Cape Town, the Milnerton Lagoon was serene, reflecting the bright blue sky and Table Mountain. But there was an unmistakable stench, and up close, the water was murky.A few hundred metres away, adults and children played in the water as it flowed into Table Bay. On the boardwalk, a sign read: “Polluted water: for health reasons, swimming and recreational activities are at your own risk.” Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Water pollution across UK surged by nearly a third and highest in decade

Only a third of survey respondents believe their supplier will take the necessary steps to address water pollution

Politics

1 week ago ‘I needed heart surgery after swimming in polluted water’: Health warning as sewage spills reach decade

As a result of sewage pollution, 331 people have seen a doctor with chest infections and gastroenteritis and some were hospitalised

Events

1 week ago 2,487 water pollution incidents recorded in 2024, say campaigners

Firms were collectively set a target of a 40% reduction in pollution incidents but instead recorded a 30% increase, Surfers Against Sewage said.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Yoda’ for scientists: the outsider ecologist whose ideas from the 80s just might fix our future

John Todd’s eco-machine stunned experts by using natural organisms to remove toxic waste from a Cape Cod lagoon. Forty years on, he wants to build a fleet of them to clean up the oceansJohn Todd remembers the moment he knew he was really on to something: “There was no question that it was at the Harwich dump in 1986,” he recalls. This was in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, close to where Todd still lives. Hidden away from the picturesque beaches was the town landfill, including lagoons of toxic waste from septic tanks, which was being left to seep into the groundwater below. So Todd, then a 45-year-old biologist, decided to design a solution. What he was “on to”, he came to realise, was not just a natural way of removing pollution from water, it was a holistic approach to environmental restoration that was way ahead of its time, and possibly still is.An early eco-machine purifying toxic waste on Cape Cod in 1986. Photograph: John Todd Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Pet dogs have ‘extensive and multifarious’ impact on environment, new research finds

Scale of environmental damage attributed to huge number of dogs globally as well as ‘lax or uninformed behaviour of dog owners’Dogs have “extensive and multifarious” environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions, new research has found.An Australian review of existing studies has argued that “the environmental impact of owned dogs is far greater, more insidious, and more concerning than is generally recognised”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Campaigners find sewage pollution and E coli in Boat Race water

Tests ahead of Sunday’s race revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for poor bathing waterWater quality along the stretch of the River Thames which will host the iconic Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has been classified as poor by clean water campaigners, as a result of E coli from sewage pollution.Testing carried out along the four-mile route, which the university rowing teams will tackle on Sunday, has revealed E coli levels which are three times above the threshold for poor bathing water status. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Streams of medicines: what’s hiding in the UK’s waterways? – podcast

The UK is known for its national parks: areas of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and crystal-clear streams and lakes. But research has shown that England’s most protected rivers are full of pharmaceuticals.In episode one of a two-part series, biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about the problem of chemical pollution in our waterways, and how it could be contributing to what the World Health Organization has described as ‘the silent pandemic’ – antimicrobial resistance.‘Rivers you think are pristine are not’: how drug pollution flooded the UK’s waterways – and put human health at riskSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Dramatic update emerges from hospital after Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed she only had 'four days to live'

Virginia Giuffre has spent the last six days in Perth's Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

Events

2 w. ago Cornwall beachgoers urged to AVOID swimming after grim 'slurry pollution' washes up

People have been warned against going into a stream in Cornwall after slurry pollution entered the water, which flows into Mawgan Porth beach - a popular spot with surfers

Politics

3 w. ago Bosses of polluting water firms will lose bonuses if they fail to clean up Britain's rivers, watchdog warns

From next month regulator Ofwat plans to use new powers to stop executives of water companies being rewarded despite poor performance on cleaning up pollution.

Events

4 w. ago Bill to nationalise polluting water companies blocked by Government

Clive Lewis says his Water Bill would operate a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy but Government points to £200 billion cost.

Politics

4 w. ago MP calls to nationalise water firms that repeatedly pollute rivers and seas

Clive Lewis says his Water Bill would operate a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy for private water companies.

Politics

4 w. ago Dying fish, polluted water and a terrible stench: the French firm accused of dumping toxic waste in Colombia’s wetlands

A controversial landfill near Barrancabermeja has polluted protected wetlands, causing harm to people and the environment, claim local campaignersAs a small fishing canoe darts across the still waters of the San Silvestre wetlands in central Colombia, Wilson Díaz leans over and dips his hands overboard. He cups some water and brings a palmful to his face, inhaling deeply. “It smells foul,” he says.Díaz, president of a fishing union in his home town of Barrancabermeja, knows the waters intimately. He has worked in the San Silvestre wetlands his entire life; the water he now says is foul has long been his family’s sustenance. Continue reading...

Events