Today the BBC reported the biggest legal claim ever brought in the UK over environmental pollution in the country has been filed at the High Court.
“Almost 4,000 people have signed up to the lawsuit against major poultry producers and a water company over allegations of “extensive and widespread pollution” in three rivers – the Wye, Lugg and Usk.”
Link to the article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrj4qqqy7po
Acknowledgement: BBC photo
Thank you to everyone who visited the RevIvel stand at the October Stotfold Mill Steam Fair this past weekend.
Visitor numbers seemed down from last year, and probably due to the unsettled weather. However, we had plenty of interest in the RevIvel stand and were able to sign-up more Members on Saturday and Sunday.
RevIvel members did a brilliant job in talking to visitors and explaining how water abstraction and sewage pollution are having a devastating impact on the entire River Ivel.
Feedback was warm and encouraging. The common theme was “keep up the good work”…..
Please come along to the Stotfold Mill Steam Fair this weekend (4th/5th October 2025).
Stotfold Mill is linked to the upper River Ivel. The waters of the river powered the mill through its working life. This weekend you will be able to see the mill in operation again, together with an impressive selection of working steam engines.
Please come along and say hello to RevIvel. We will have a stand at the fair.
Link to the fair is here: https://www.stotfoldmill.com/working-steam-2025/
“Documents and data shared with BBC News from inside England’s much criticised environment watchdog show an agency struggling to monitor incidents of serious pollution.”
“The information shows the Environment Agency (EA) only sent investigators to a small fraction of reported incidents last year and often relied on water companies – who may be responsible for the pollution – for updates.”
Full article available here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4jk8njpngo
Acknowledgement – Getty Image
The Bedford Independent newspaper reported on Tuesday 23rd September that “half the river sites tested along the River Great Ouse through Bedfordshire are unsafe for bathing, according to new data from the Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environmental Trust (BedsGOVET)”
“Last night’s Climate Change Committee (Monday, 22 September) heard that monthly testing at 16 locations between Turvey and Great Barford found that E. coli levels at half of the sites were at or above Ofwat’s threshold for safe bathing.”
The full article is available here: https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/river-great-ouse-fails-e-coli-safety-checks-at-several-popular-bathing-sites/
What does this mean for the River Ivel?
Data shows that the River Ivel and tributaries are subject to sewage pollution, which can carry the E. coli bacteria. RevIvel recommends that local residents should not swim in the River Ivel due to the risk of E. coli contamination. This also includes preventing pet dogs from entering the river and drinking the water.
A key goal of RevIvel is to restore sufficient flow to the upper River Ivel to support the successful reintroduction of brown trout. Measuring and understanding the water flow in the upper Ivel is a crucial step to achieving this goal.
Over the last few months, RevIvel has been working to install a state-of-the-art flow monitoring station in the upper River Ivel. Funds raised by RevIvel’s members and supporters has made this possible. Thank you.
The flow monitoring station will be tested and calibrated over the winter, ready to track and report the variations in flow throughout 2026. Data will be collected automatically and reported to members regularly.
RevIvel is a firm supporter of getting the local community involved in monitoring the health and condition of the River Ivel, as part of the “citizen science” movement. Measuring flow in the upper Ivel is a huge step forward in working to restore this chalkstream.
Thank you to everyone who attended the RevIvel AGM on Saturday 20th September. We had a good turnout of members and supporters.
AGM attendees were given an update on RevIvel’s recent campaigns and activities. This was followed by a walk down to the upper River Ivel to see progress with installing a flow monitoring station.
The BBC reported last month that Anglian Water faces a fine of £62.8m for a “serious breach” in how the company managed its sewage works.
“This is a serious breach and is unacceptable.”
The full BBC article is available here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2vyl22rjvo
The website Top Of The Poops (https://top-of-the-poops.org/) has highlighted Anglian Water for pollution of the River Great Ouse in 2024. The website calculated that Anglian Water dumped sewage into the River Great Ouse for 17,602hours last year.
Anglian Water is responsible for managing the public sewage treatment network across the entire River Ivel catchment area.
Anglian Water states “Your feedback is very important to us we’d love to hear your thoughts on how we’re doing. We will make sure that your feedback is passed on to the right people” If you would like to contact Anglian Water, the link to its online feedback form is here: https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/your-feedback/
27th August 2025
Sewagemap.co.uk indicates two sewage releases into the River Flit at Toddington and Clophill. Both releases happened at an Anglian Water waste water facility in the late afternoon. Duration of each release ~45minutes.
The River Flit is a tributary of the Ivel. If you live along the River Flit or River Ivel and see signs of raw sewage contamination, please report the incident to the Environment Agency. The EA’s incident hotline can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 807060 . Thank you.
John Craven is a much loved BBC tv personality and long-time presenter of BBC Country File.
Recently John put down his thoughts about the UK’s current river pollution problem in an opinion article. A link to the BBC Country File article is here: https://www.countryfile.com/people/opinion/water-pollution-uk