Google data centres coming to Hertfordshire?! Sounds a lot like the final nail in an already well-nailed coffin for the local chalk streams. Or will the water be sucked out of the Thames at Teddington for it under Thames Water’s current plans? Keep your beady eyes on this.

EXCLUSIVE: England’s farms are being fertilised with a cocktail of toxic landfill juice + sewage sludge. 750,000 tonnes of landfill leachate tankered to sewage works every year → mixed into sewage → spread on farmers' fields. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

EXCLUSIVE: England’s farms are being fertilised with a cocktail of toxic landfill juice + sewage sludge. 750,000 tonnes of landfill leachate tankered to sewage works every year → mixed into sewage → spread on farmers' fields. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Pleased to see moves to ban/restrict PFAS in firefighting foams (consultation below) but it is astonishingly late in the day. Also very pleased to see forever chemicals in the dictionary! Can drop those pesky single quote marks consultations.hse.gov.uk/crd-reach/pf...

Feargal Sharkey accuses Environment Agency of illegally draining River Lea www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Paths of poison across our oceans: of 90411 oil spills from ships, only 474 were reported in a 5 year period - satellite analysis exposes high density "slick belts" coinciding with shipping lanes. Our latest article with @pulitzercenter.bsky.social journalist Saroj Pathirana out now:

Our report on the catastrophic burning of the X-Press Pearl is on BBC News 24 today - working with @pulitzercenter.bsky.social journalist Saroj Pathirana, we've exposed the devastating impact from the wreck of the cargo ship - laden with chemicals, acid, heavy metals + epoxy resin.

Lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka in 2021 uncovered by BBC & @watershed-i.bsky.social. Plastic pellets spilled in 2021 are now absorbing arsenic, lead, and cadmium—posing long-term risks to marine ecosystems & human health. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Uncovering the lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka, @WATERSHED_i new investigation for BBC. Has enough compensation been paid? #oceancleanup #plasticpollution #MarineLife www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Oil, acid, epoxy resin, heavy metals, plastics spewed from the burning wreck into the ocean, searing through local wildlife populations. Fish is a staple food + livelihood in this part of Sri Lanka: overnight, many families lost their livelihood + main source of food: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Important story from @dpcarrington.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

📢 BREAKING: Government confirms Ofwat is to be abolished. New regulator to be established to take responsibility of water functions across Ofwat, Environment Agency, Natural England and Drinking Water Inspectorate

What's all the fuss about the new water report? It recommends: A single water regulator for England & Wale, scrapping Ofwat, aspects of the Environment Agency, Drinking Water Inspectorate & others. Water too complex for fragmented oversight.

Cripes. Ofwat to be abolished as ministers look to create new water regulator. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Serious pollution incidents up 60% in 2024 from previous year Three water companies responsible for 81% of serious incidents Thames. Southern. Yorkshire. What a mess.

- PFAS forever chemicals above proposed safety limits in nearly all English rivers, lakes & ponds, study finds - levels of internationally banned PFOS in fish were 322 times above proposed safety limits on average Our new article out now: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

There’s more…. Environment Agency insider alleges ‘cover-up’ over sewage sludge on farmland. Regulator and government accused of colluding with water industry to dump potentially toxic waste without oversight www.theguardian.com/environment/...

There’s more…. Environment Agency insider alleges ‘cover-up’ over sewage sludge on farmland. Regulator and government accused of colluding with water industry to dump potentially toxic waste without oversight www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Yorkshire Water announces hosepipe ban after driest spring in 132 years… but who’s using it all? Some clues in this thread, including my investigation for the Guardian…

Sludge used as fertiliser on farmland can contain harmful chemicals that scientists suspect are entering food chain www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Sludge used as fertiliser on farmland can contain harmful chemicals that scientists suspect are entering food chain www.theguardian.com/environment/...

'Cancer fears in shadow of 'forever chemical' plant.' So pleased that BBC's @HayleyHassall is taking our PFAS investigation around the AGC chemical plant in Lancashire further. Her documentary is coming soon. Read more here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In May 2021, a burning container ship off Sri Lanka’s coast spilled toxic chemicals & microplastics into the sea-the biggest plastic spill on record. Four years on, @watershed-i.bsky.social & @pulitzercenter.bsky.social uncover the lasting impacts with @BBC Listen👉 @BBCSounds shorturl.at/X560T

'Cancer fears in shadow of 'forever chemical' plant.' So pleased that BBC's @HayleyHassall is taking our PFAS investigation around the AGC chemical plant in Lancashire further. Her documentary is coming soon. Read more here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

There's a massive public water supply shortfall in England (don't be fooled by the name, business and industry use it too), but there are plans to fix it. 1/4 Here's what the deficit looks like (click for interactive chart): watershedinvestigations.com/englands-wat...

We urgently need to examine how we account for water—who’s using it, how they’re getting it, and from where. Demand is higher than ever, but no major water supply infrastructure has been built in over 30 years. The system hasn’t kept pace. Check out my investigation in The Guardian... 1/3

Part two of my investigation into England's water resources. In short, the system is outdated, under-monitored, economically skewed, and environmentally risky, with reforms needed to avoid long-term water shortages. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🚨 England’s rivers are under threat. Water extraction is at record levels & the system meant to track it is broken. Licensing's outdated, loopholes huge, no one truly knows how much water we’re taking. Part 1 of investigation (part 2 coming soon): www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Good news: £100m+ in water company fines will go to cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas. Originally a Tory policy but if it works, it works. Now let’s see bigger, hurtier fines and no giving in to Thames Water's pleas for gentle tickings-off instead.

To recap: There are 10,000+ PFAS. Some are toxic. They're here forever. They pollute water, air, soils, animals and you. Some linked to diseases inc cancers. So when scientists warn against moves to redefine them, we'd better hope people are listening: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Our Founding Director @georgiaes.bsky.social was on BBC News earlier this morning, talking about the scandal of sewage sludge being spread onto our farmland despite the testing of this sludge not being updated since 1989. Read more about our ask to government here bsky.app/profile/figh...

To recap: There are 10,000+ PFAS. Some are toxic. They're here forever. They pollute water, air, soils, animals and you. Some linked to diseases inc cancers. So when scientists warn against moves to redefine them, we'd better hope people are listening: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Calling all PFAS experts!!! The call for evidence that kicks off the Parliamentary inquiry into PFAS regulation closes tomorrow afternoon. If you haven’t already contributed there’s still time — just. What better way to spend a bank holiday? committees.parliament.uk/work/9078/ad...

We appeared on the Guardian's It's Complicated with @josh-tou.bsky.social to talk about the thorny issue of PFAS forever chemicals. It's one of the biggest pollution problems we have and it will be here long after we're gone... www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTF...

There are tens of thousands of them. They’re here forever. Some are toxic. They’re in the water, soils, rain & your blood. The UK government is not aligning with EU plans to ban them. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about PFAS. And some stuff you didn’t www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🔴 Remember Aria, the “moonshot" research agency dreamed up by Dominic Cummings? It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉 New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...

Wonderful to hear about wildlife returning. We need more of this. 4 huge dams came down on California’s Klamath river last year, the river is free-running again and the salmon are returning. Listen to @bengoldsmith.bsky.social podcast for the full epic story podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

NEW!: 3 UK military bases have been marked for investigation over fears they may be leaking toxic forever chemicals into drinking water sources and important environmental sites. In the US, billions of dollars has been spent on military site contamination. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

NEW!: 3 UK military bases have been marked for investigation over fears they may be leaking toxic forever chemicals into drinking water sources and important environmental sites. In the US, billions of dollars has been spent on military site contamination. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

So please to see this parliamentary PFAS inquiry kick off today. So important we understand this better... committees.parliament.uk/work/9078/ad...

Hold your noses and check out the Watershed Pollution Map to see where untreated poop was dumped into rivers, lakes and seas near you, for a record 3.61 million hours last year... watershedinvestigations.com/home/find-ou...

Hold your noses and check out the Watershed Pollution Map to see where untreated poop was dumped into rivers, lakes and seas near you, for a record 3.61 million hours last year... watershedinvestigations.com/home/find-ou...

📢NEW WATER BILL could shake up how England & Wales manage water. Tackling pollution, climate risks, and who owns water companies. Here’s what’s inside the draft law:

Also featuring yours truly, Stephanie Metzger of @rsc.org, & Hannah Evans of @fidrango.bsky.social out now...

📢 Investigation into possible failures by Defra and the Environment Agency to comply with key laws to protect and improve water quality launched by Office for Environmental Protection... www.theoep.org.uk/news/oep-lau...

Government to appoint a lead environmental regulator for major projects. Natural England, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission and the Marine Management Organisation will be ordered to work alongside it and MHCLG. www.gov.uk/government/p...

The Stena Immaculate and Solong collision site appears to be in marine protected areas. Experts say the kerosene may burn off. Unclear whether there are any other substances in the air or water. watershedinvestigations.com/home/find-ou...

There's a lot of data on UK water pollution - but it's not always laid out so it's easy for people to find. We wanted people to be able to investigate what's polluting their local area, & the Felt platform enabled us to build the Watershed Pollution Map: watershedinvestigations.com/landfill-sit...

Incredible honour to be interviewed by Enda Brady alongside such amazing guests as Robert Bilott, Ian Cousins & Oksana Pyzik about "the poison of the century" PFAS. You can catch the whole show here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE8a...

It's not only birds, fish, otters, porpoises, seals being poisoned with PFAS, it's foxes too. Explore the Watershed Pollution Map to see where contaminated foxes have been found! 🦊 watershedinvestigations.com/home/find-ou...