A new Environment Agency report says companies need to do more to protect the environment.

In one of the first studies to determine potential sources of microplastics pollution, researchers have found that water samples from UK rivers contained significantly higher concentrations of microplastics downstream from wastewater treatment plants.

Anglian Water has become the first water company to announce a radical commitment to rid the East of England of plastic waste by 2030 – the ambitious pledge will tackle all plastic waste which isn’t reusable, recyclable or compostable.

A €5 million EU-funded study is exploring agricultural practices and EU policies related to drinking water quality and the use of pesticides and nitrogen.

Trials of an innovative technology developed in Wales to tackle severe heavy metal pollution in rivers has seen the treatment’s success with raw samples showing metal removal of 87% while filtered samples confirmed 99.5% removal of metals.

Derby Crown Court, sitting in Nottingham, has imposed a significant fine this week on Severn Trent Water following a serious pollution incident which resulted in an estimated 30,000 dead fish and 5km of damaged ecology along the River Amber.

In a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, environmental offences for nitrates pollution and over-abstraction have cost a Shropshire farmer £36,000 in court.

Yorkshire Water gathered the finest minds in data for its first solveIT hackathon event as the firm ramps up its plans to proactively prevent flooding and pollution incidents.

The Chair of the Environment Agency has called for courts to make fines for water pollution incidents proportionate to the companies’ turnover, saying that the water companies are responsible for "at least one serious pollution incident every week."

Anglian Water has agreed to pay £50,000 to an environmental charity after a manhole overflowed with black sludge and grey liquid into a watercourse in Bedfordshire due to a blocked sewer.