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Creating a better place

Bathing water classifications and short-term pollution

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Cleaner Seas, Cleaner Seas, Environment Agency, Water
4. Environment Agency staff member in the sea taking a sample of the water.

Our blog on 1 February explained how we approach monitoring, sampling and testing of bathing waters and our approach to keeping public informed and warned when there are short term risks of pollution which bathers would rightly want to be …

Tackling the metal pollution legacy of Britain’s mining history

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Environment Agency
Photograph showing contaminated water flowing out of an old mine entrance built more than one hundred years ago.

Metal mines played a major part in Britain’s history, but these abandoned mines are the largest source of metals to our rivers and seas which can seriously harm aquatic life such as fish and river-flies. Hugh Potter, the Environment Agency’s Water and Abandoned Metal Mines lead, looks at the action being taken to address the legacy.

Cleaning up rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Environment Agency
The Force Crag mine water treatment ponds, Lake District. Photo by John Malley.

The problems facing water are complex, with multiple sources of pollution affecting water quality. One of the lesser-known areas of the Environment Agency’s work is cleaning up pollution from abandoned metal mines.
Mining played a major part in Britain’s rich industrial history, but this also left thousands of abandoned mines scattered across our landscape. Almost all these mines had closed by the early 1900s but they are still releasing harmful metals including lead, cadmium and copper. This is one of the top 10 issues for water quality in England as it harms fish and river insects. Abandoned mines are the largest source of metals to British rivers and seas (click here for more information). Pollution is localised to about 1,500km of rivers - mainly in the North East, Cumbria, Yorkshire & Cornwall.