§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the level of nitrates were in rivers in each year since 1990, broken down by(a) region and (b) river; and if she will make a statement; [56554]
(2) what assessment has been made by her Department of nitrate levels in rivers; and if she will make a statement. [56556]
§ Mr. MeacherIn England and Wales the Environment Agency's general quality assessment (GQA) scheme is used to classify water quality in rivers and canals. Figures showing changes in quality against a baseline of 1990 are published each year by the Environment Agency. Results for Scotland are collected by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and in Northern Ireland by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.
Chemical quality is assessed on the basis of biochemical oxygen demand and concentrations of dissolved oxygen and ammonia. Stretches of rivers and canals are classed as good, fair, poor or bad based on different degrees of chemical quality.
Phosphates and nitrates are measured to determine the average concentrations of nutrients in rivers. Each monitored river stretch is assigned one of six grades from 1 (very low) to 6 (excessively high for phosphate, very high for nitrate). The grade assigned to the water is based on three years of sampling.
Since the Environment Agency monitors water quality at about 7,000 sites representing 40,000 km of rivers and canals in England and Wales it would be impractical to list the results in the detail requested. However, they can be supplied electronically on application to the Environment Agency. In addition the Environment Agency website has a section called "What's in your backyard" which enables anyone with an interest in a particular river to obtain all available monitoring results for the particular stretch from 1990 to 2000. The website address is www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
The following table summarises the results of assessments since 1990.
194W
percentage length GQA: nutrient status—nitrate 1995 2000 1 17.6 15.7 2 14.7 12.6 3 19.7 21.1
percentage length GQA: nutrient status—nitrate 1995 2000 4 17.7 18.8 5 15.1 15.9 6 15.2 15.8 High 30.3 31.7
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement on(a) the levels of phosphorous in and (b) the quality of rivers in each year since 1990; if she will break the information down (i) by region and (ii) by river; and if she will make a statement; [56559]
(2) what assessment has been made by her Department of levels of phosphorous in rivers; and if she will make a statement. [56560]
§ Mr. MeacherIn England and Wales the Environment Agency's general quality assessment (GQA) scheme is used to classify water quality in rivers and canals. Figures showing changes in quality against a baseline of 1990 are published each year by the Environment Agency. Results for Scotland are collected by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and in Northern Ireland by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.
Chemical quality is assessed on the basis of biochemical oxygen demand and concentrations of dissolved oxygen and ammonia. Stretches of rivers and canals are classed as good, fair, poor or bad based on different degrees of chemical quality.
Phosphates and nitrates are measured to determine the average concentrations of nutrients in rivers. Each monitored river stretch is assigned one of six grades from 1 (very low) to 6 (excessively high for phosphate, very high for nitrate). The grade assigned to the water is based on three years of sampling.
Since the Environment Agency monitors water quality at about 7,000 sites representing 40,000 km of rivers and canals in England and Wales it would be impractical to list the results in the detail requested. However, they can be supplied electronically on application to the Environment Agency. In addition the Environment Agency website has a section called "What's in your backyard" which enables anyone with an interest in a particular river to obtain all available monitoring results for the particular stretch from 1990 to 2000. The website address is www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
195W The following table summarises the results of assessments since 1990.
percentage length GQA: nutrient status—phosphate 1990 1995 2000 1 8.0 14.8 14.0 2 17.7 22.7 21.4 3 10.3 11.0 10.1 4 13.1 13.3 15.1 5 28.0 27.4 28.9 6 22.9 10.9 10.6 High 64.0 51.6 54.5
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment(a) has been and (b) is being made of the impact of the water framework directive and what measures will be required as a result; and if she will make a statement. [56553]
§ Mr. MeacherAn assessment of the costs and benefits of implementing the directive was set out in the first consultation paper issued jointly by the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the National Assembly for Wales in March 2001. This partial regulatory impact assessment estimated total costs for England and Wales in the range of £2 billion to £9.2 billion: benefits in the range of £1.6 billion to £6.2 billion. A copy of the paper is in the House Library.
We will consult on measures necessary under the directive in a second consultation paper this year.
GQA: Summary results for England and Wales A B C D E F Good or Fair Poor or Bad GQA: chemistry quality (percentage length) 1990 17.6 30.2 23.2 14.0 12.7 2.3 84.9 15.1 1995 26.9 32.7 21.0 10.3 8.1 1.0 91.0 9.0 1996 27.2 31.2 21.3 10.4 8.8 1.0 90.2 9.8 1997 26.3 30.5 21.4 10.8 9.9 1.0 89.0 11.0 1998 27.6 31.5 20.2 10.7 9.3 0.7 90.0 10.0 1999 29.1 34.2 19.6 9.2 7.5 0.6 91.9 8.1 2000 31.9 35.8 18.9 7.7 5.4 0.4 94.2 5.8 GQA: biological quality (percentage length) 1990 24.0 31.6 21.6 9.8 7.3 5.7 87.0 13.0 1995 34.6 31.6 18.4 8.1 5.4 1.9 92.6 7.4 2000 34.6 32.3 19.8 7.6 4.8 0.9 94.3 5.7
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the speech she made to Water UK on 2 May on the Water Framework Directive; and if she will make a statement. [56548]
§ Mr. MeacherA copy of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's speech to Water UK was placed in the Library today. During her speech my right hon. Friend announced the Government's response to the consultation on the draft Water Bill, a copy of which was placed in the Library on 2 May.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what European
196WAn updated regulatory impact assessment will form part of a third consultation paper on implementation of the directive in England and Wales, planned for 2003.
Implementation of the directive in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and with respect to the devolved functions in Wales, are matters for the Scottish Executive, the Northern Ireland Executive and the National Assembly for Wales.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made by her Department of the quality of rivers; and if she will make a statement. [56557]
§ Mr. MeacherIn England and Wales the Environment Agency's General Quality Assessment (GQA) scheme is used to classify water quality in rivers and canals. Figures showing changes in quality against a baseline of 1990 are published each year by the Environment Agency. Results for Scotland are collected by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and in Northern Ireland by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.
The GQA also reports on the aesthetic quality of rivers. This includes: litter on the banks and in the river; sewage derived waste such as sanitary towels and cotton buds; the colour and smell of the water; oil, scum, foam, sewage fungus and ochreous deposits; and dog fouling.
Biological quality is assessed by comparing the populations of macroinvertebrates found in samples taken twice a year at each sampling site, with the population that would normally be found in unpolluted waters with the same physical characteristics. Stretches of rivers and canals are classed as very good, good, fairly good, fair, poor or bad.
Directives relate to levels of nitrates in groundwater; what steps (a) have been taken and (b) are planned to meet the deadlines of such Directives; and if she will make a statement. [56558]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Nitrates Directive and Water Framework Directive both relate in part to levels of nitrate in groundwater.
The Nitrates Directive aims to protect waters from nitrate pollution from agricultural land. It requires identification of groundwaters that contain, or could contain if preventative action is not taken, more than 50mg/l nitrates. In 1996, England designated 59 Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) specifically for the protection 197W of groundwaters. Since 1998, farmers within NVZs have been required to apply Action Programme measures to limit organic manure and inorganic nitrogen fertiliser use.
A European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment in 2000 held that the UK had failed to designate sufficient NVZs for the protection of all waters. A recent consultation outlined two options for implementing the Nitrates Directive, both of which would extend the protection of groundwater in England. We are currently carefully considering the responses made to this consultation and will announce a decision in due course.
In the future, the Water Framework Directive will add further force to this protection because it requires that member states aim to achieve good groundwater status for all bodies of groundwater within 15 years of the Directive coming into force. The Commission is currently developing specific measures to prevent and control groundwater pollution, which will complement the provisions of existing Directives.