River Dee to benefit from £1m water quality funds

Jan 21 2010 by Ben Coulbeck, Chester Chronicle

THE River Dee will benefit from a share of £1m to improve its water quality as part of an overhaul of the country’s waterways by the Environment Agency.

Ten river basins have been highlighted by the government to receive the funds in a bid to revive endangered wildlife and fish species.

The cash will be used to carry out water quality investigations while a national river basin management plan will be implemented. The river improvement initiative comes after Environment Secretary Hilary Benn revealed plans for an additional £7.5m to farmers across the country, to help tackle agricultural water pollution.Environment Agency officials have targeted 2015 as the deadline for river basins to achieve ‘good’ status by the Water Framework Directive and to prevent water deterioration.

A spokesman said: “The River Dee and the Dee Estuary have improved dramatically over the last 20 years.

“They were polluted from heavy industry and agriculture and not in a healthy condition and are now much cleaner, but there is still work to be done. New rules set out by the EU have raised the bar in terms of the standards we need to achieve.

“These plans are the first step to help us reach these higher standards. Local industry and farmers and the water companies who manage the sewerage system have made huge steps to reduce their impact on the river, and we are keen to work with them to take it to the next level.”