Thousands of pollution tests cancelled due to lack of staff

BBC, due to the shortage of personnel in the last three months rivers, lakes and the Golden Horn to determine potential harmful pollution thousands of water tests were canceled.

The Environmental Agency confirmed the cancellations of campaignists after showing comprehensive interruptions plans in the monitoring programs after showing us internal e -mails and documents.

Canceled tests are for inorganic pollutants – substances such as nitrates and phosphates that can show sewage or agricultural pollution.

EA says that the test program is “intact”, but this week a turning point report “is fighting to effectively control and manage the water system”, he said.

Within three months from May to July, the water regulator says that the test, which was planned 10,000 in the main laboratory in Starcross in Devon, did not take place due to personnel shortage.

Others were combined with other tests, or postponed when EA said it was the “optimization” process.

The Environmental Agency said that the seven national inorganic test program was completely “paused”. These include programs that follow chemical pollution in rivers, lakes and the Golden Horn and programs that follow the regulator’s plans to deal with drought.

Jo Bradley, who has been working for more than 20 years in the water quality team of the Environmental Agency, said to the BBC: “Some inorganic substances such as copper and zinc are directly toxic for water organisms, including fish and insects.”

“Others, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, are nutrients and can affect river health when they are present in high amounts.

“These substances should be tested routinely in hundreds of places so that we can see trends in river chemistry and define problems quickly.”

EA, from May to July, “paused 17.5% of the inorganic tests at the Starcross Laboratory.

He said he expects to work under 15% of capacity all year round.

A spokesman accused the decrease of tests on “fluctuations of personnel capacity” and could not tell when the laboratory would work in full capacity.

Personnel problems are not something new in EA. In 2023, Alan Lovell said to Parliament that he was “struggling with recruitment and eclipse of staff”.

The internal E -mails obtained by Greenpeace and Desmog campaign groups through the demands of freedom of information were shared with BBC. EA officials show that their separation of personnel is discussing the effect of tests and others plans to leave.

A senior official who wrote an e -mail to his colleagues, said that “I’m afraid is not a good news”.

Helen Nightingale, who works as a basin planner at the Environment Agency, analyzes the data from the water quality program to 2022 and focuses on trying to find “success” from a serious investigation while there.

He also said that the morale was low: “The fee is not great – we did not have a wage increase for years due to austerity.

“But there are too many people [the EA] Because they want to make a difference – and when you don’t even take it – so, what does it mean? “

The documents shown by the BBC show that the studies affected by the deductions carried out in the tests this year include the monitoring of the protected areas, including the Wye River, which is currently facing a water industry in various parts of the country and a pollution crisis that is currently due to intensive chicken farming.

Stuart Singleton White of Angling Trust, who conducts the test program of his own citizen scientist. “This spring, while cutting 10,000 water samples, our water quality monitoring network collected 10,000.

“Our latest annual report showed that 34% of the sites violated” good ecological state “for phosphate and 45% showed symptoms of nitrate pollution. Pollution has been out of control and the key to dealing with comprehensive tests.”

Singer Returned Campaign Feargal Shakey, canceled tests, EA’s restrictions are more confirmed, he said.

“When isn’t an regulatory regulator? When the Environmental Agency,” he said to Shakey BBC.

“With flawless timing, the Environmental Agency reminds us why Sir Jon Cunliffe should be added to Quangos Teggire. [the Water Commission]. Corporately incompetent, complaining and disreputable. “

This week, Sir Jon proposed to create a single water regulator by delivering EA’s responsibility to monitor water pollution.

EA spokesman said: “We are determined to preserve the environmental and water quality test, it continues to be an extra £ 8 million -financing priority.”

“Our Water Quality Test Program continues to be solid and priority on the basis of need – only a small part of the tests were affected by this issue without any effect on pollution events and bath water test.”