From Fish to Rare Crayfish: England’s Drought Wildlife Rescue Operations 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Drought
A group of people in overalls on the bank of a body of water, with a large net to capture fish which are in need of rescue.

Fisheries teams across England respond as drought and prolonged dry weather puts aquatic life at risk.  England’s driest start to the year since 1976 is severely impacting waterways. While Environment Agency fisheries officers work with partners to help fisheries prepare …

What citizen scientists are telling us about bathing waters through AI signposts

A smart phone being pointed at a QR code

Hello Lamp Post-driven QR signage being put up at Combe Martin in Devon Valuable new information about how and when people use popular bathing waters has become available, ten months after AI-powered signage was launched at pilot sites around England.  …

What is drought? 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Drought

Over the past 50 years, England has suffered lots of droughts - some of the more notable ones include 1975-76, 1989-92, 1995-96, 2004-06, 2011-12 and recently 2018, 2022 and 2025. But what does this mean, how does the Environment Agency …

How we are supporting the farming community to manage the impacts of dry weather

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: agriculture, Climate change, Drought
Irrigation on a field

Current situation Spring 2025 across England was the driest since 1893 with all areas receiving well below average rainfall. The dry spring has seen exceptionally low river flows experienced across northern and central England. Recent rainfall at the start of …

How the Environment Agency monitors and tests bathing water quality

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Cleaner Seas, Environment Agency, Water
Many parts of the UK's coastline are used for bathing and leisure.

As the weather is warming and more people are heading outside to enjoy beaches, rivers and lakes, we’re starting our regular monitoring of bathing waters. Between now and the end of September, millions of people will head to bathing waters …

How to Prepare for an Inspection from the Environment Agency (EA): A Farmer’s Guide 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: agriculture
Environment Agency officer on a farm inspection. Walking through a field with 2 farmers. A dog can be seen at the front of the image

We play a key role in ensuring that farming practices comply with environmental regulations.  Agriculture is the biggest sector we regulate. We deliver at least 4000 farm inspections per year. These are targeted to farms and parts of the country …

Citizen Science and the Environment Agency

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Citizen Science, Community, Environment Agency, Other areas of our work, Science
A group of people standing around tables at the riverbank carrying out Riverfly training.

The Environment Agency is working with partners to develop tools, guidance and frameworks to support a standardised and connected approach to citizen science monitoring of the water environment. The Citizen Science Technical Advisory Framework Last year, we shared how the …

Update on Environment Agency investigation

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Environment Agency, Regulated industry, Water
Grasses by a water body

Work continues on our largest ever criminal investigation, to date, into potential breaches of environmental permit conditions by all water and sewerage companies discharging into English waters.   The extent of potential non-compliance involves more than 2,200 wastewater treatment works. To …

Reporting water pollution to get easier with new online service 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Rivers, Sustainability, Water

We’re piloting a new digital service to provide more ways for the public to report environmental problems.  Public reporting of water pollution, odours, flooding or wildlife concerns is an important way that we are alerted to environmental incidents.  Our national …