UK rivers contain a “cocktail of chemicals and stimulants” that include caffeine, antidepressants and pain relievers coming from the wastewater discharges of water companies, contaminating fresh waters at levels that can represent a risk to aquatic life, as discovered by an investigation reported by ‘The Guardian’.
Results from three days of river testing by 4,531 volunteers from the environmental research group Earthwatch showed that, in addition to the chemical mixing of rivers, 61% of UK freshwater was in poor condition due to high levels of nutrients phosphate and nitrate, the source of which is wastewater effluent and agricultural runoff. England had the worst level of poor water quality in rivers, with 67% of freshwater samples showing high levels of nitrate and phosphate.
Rivers “stressed by agriculture and wastewater treatment plants”
“Our rivers have historically been stressed by agriculture and are being pushed to the limit by outdated and inadequate wastewater treatment plants,” Earthwatch said.
«Caffeine was found in 100% of the samples sent for analysis»explained Sasha Woods, policy director at Earthwatch. “This is alarming because it shows that water companies are not adequately cleaning sewage effluent before discharging it into rivers, or that too much raw sewage is reaching rivers, or both.”
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Caffeine
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Nicotine
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The antidepressant venlafaxine
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The antibiotic trimethoprim
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The anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac
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The neonicotinoid acetamiprid, used to treat fleas in pets
Volunteers taking part in the so-called ‘Great UK WaterBlitz’ collected thousands of data sets at geographically dispersed locations across the UK over three days in September. Nitrate and phosphate measurements taken by volunteers in a river sub-basin were based on at least five samples per sub-basin.
England has the worst fresh water
England had the worst water quality, with a 67% of rivers considered of unacceptable or poor qualitycompared to 43% poor quality in Northern Ireland, 29% in Scotland and 21% in Wales. The Anglian and Thames River catchment districts have the worst water quality in the UK, with over 80% of surveys showing unacceptable nutrient concentrations.
Earthwatch said there was an urgent need for improvements to wastewater treatment processes and reductions in agricultural and urban runoff. to reduce threats to freshwater systems and vulnerable species.
“The poor state of many bodies of water in the UK is due to a complex and interconnected range of pollution sources: wastewater discharges, agriculture and urban runoff,” the report states. Earthwatch’s evidence of the poor state of the UK’s rivers comes after Environment Agency data showed a dramatic decline in Atlantic salmon populations in England and Wales. Salmon are an indicator species and their rapid decline is considered a warning sign that the natural environment is under extreme stress.
The complete analysis of around 300 chemical substances will be published throughout 2025. However, initial results are already building a more complete picture of chemicals in rivers and lakes.
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