This section provides information on action being taken by the Government to improve the quality of the water environment – rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater. This includes issues such as sewage treatment and disposal, bathing waters, dangerous substances, pollution from agricultural sources, and economic instruments for water pollution.

There are a number of EU directives that influence our actions, find out more about:

• Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive – sets the minimum standard for sewage treatment. Protects the environment from the adverse effects of untreated sewage. Find out about UK designated sensitive areas.
• Bathing Water Directive – protecting public health and the environment from faecal pollution at bathing waters
• Freshwater Fish Directive – seeks to protect those fresh water bodies identified by Member States as waters suitable for sustaining fish populations
• Shellfish Waters Directive – seeks to protect or improve shellfish waters identified by Member States in order to support shellfish life and growth and thus contribute to the high quality of edible shellfish products
• Water Framework Directive – designed to improve and integrate the way water bodies are managed throughout Europe. Member States must aim to reach good chemical and ecological status in inland and coastal waters by 2015

Understanding the sources of pollution and how to prevent these sources from entering our water environments is also important:

• Sewage sludge – application to agricultural land
• Diffuse pollution of water – whether from agricultural or non-agricultural sources – has been identified as the major risk to the quality of our water bodies. Find out what we are doing to reduce Nitrates from agriculture
• Control of pollution: oil storage (Environment Agency) – Regulations that require anyone in England who stores more than 200 litres of oil, to provide more secure containment facilities in England
• Groundwater – is an important resource; contamination is potentially dangerous to human health, aquatic plant and animal life and is difficult and expensive to remedy