top of page
Search

UK River Report #14: From Developing Ecological Disasters, to Save Windermere's Newest Disclosure, and Dene River Watch

  • Writer: Federico White
    Federico White
  • 4 days ago
  • 6 min read

Welcome back dear reader to the fourteenth installment of the UK River Report. In this month's blog, I shall begin with the depressing emergence of multiple environmental catastrophes threatening our inland waters and seas. For those able to successfully negotiate these sections, I will later discuss some of the recent developments for the Save Windermere campaign, while closer to home I will be discussing the work of Dene River Watch, with local groups such as this becoming increasingly important.


Fly-tipping tragedy:


Earlier this month, reports of an illegal rubbish dump in Oxfordshire local MP Calum Miller has described as 'threatening an environmental disaster' first surfaced [1]. The hundreds of tonnes of waste, fly-tipped on a floodplain in close proximity to the River Cherwell, is believed to have first begun over the summer, with estimates those responsible have profited more than £500,000 as a result [1-3]. Yet, having known about the issue since July, the Environment Agency only recently declared a critical incident over the situation, with no evidence of containment or mitigation measures in place as of mid-November, according to Friends of the Thames [2, 4, 5].


Although an arrest has since been made, with the suspect since released, there is concern over how the Environment Agency has managed the situation and will continue to respond, given the environmentally sensitive circumstances and need for rapid action, as opposed to months and years [1, 2, 6]. For instance, action to prevent the pollution of the Cherwell as instructed by the Environment Secretary, including the installation of protective barriers, came nearly a week after the challenge first made headlines [4].


However, since the estimated cost of removal exceeds the entire annual budget of the local district council, further government resources therefore ought to be provided to help prioritise effective management operations, focusing on containing the present risks to the Cherwell and surrounding environment [1].


Camber Sands catastrophe:


Another 'environmental catastrophe' has been unfolding on Camber Sands beach as millions of toxic biobeads washed up on the East Sussex coastline, with Environment Agency sources suggesting this to be one of the worst ever plastic pollution events in England [7-9].


These biobeads, deadly to wildlife, were first discovered polluting Camber Sands on 4th November [7, 10]. Southern Water have since admitted the failure of a screening filter at the Eastbourne Sewage Treatment Works likely led to the release of these plastic beads during heavy rainfall [8]. Yet, known trends in rainfall at Eastbourne and Camber Sands, in October and November, fail to corroborate this, with evidence of intermittent, mostly light rainfall leading up to the release [11-14]. It can therefore be surmised that with historic underinvestment in water infrastructure, alongside the regular disregard of the law, laid the ideal foundations for this environmental disaster [15, 16].


Given these biobeads are used by at least 15 sewage treatment plants along England's south coast alone, there is real scope for future catastrophic spills, and with no government records on the companies and treatment plants using these plastic beads, regulators are unprepared to tackle the scale of this mounting crisis [17].


Although the Environment Agency has stated 'robust enforcement action where appropriate' would be taken and the water minister is certainly 'deeply disappointed', Southern Water are yet to face any meaningful penalty, weeks after the incident was first reported [8]. The action of the Citizens Arrest Network to place Southern Water CEO Laurence Gosden under citizen's arrest, is therefore all the more warranted [18].


Save Windermere – campaign update:


Currently, Save Windermere are campaigning to improve available legislation, to protect Lake Windermere from sewage discharge and improve accountability [19].


I strongly encourage readers to sign the petition and if in a position to do so, make a small contribution toward the campaign. Alternatively, you can help spread the word of the vital work of Save Windermere by sharing their most recent short film, entitled: Origin – A Journey to Find the Source of Windermere; a powerful coverage of their campaign and how ordinary people can get involved [20].


Petition:


Film:


Dene River Watch:


Given the challenges the Environment Agency has recently faced, with staff shortages forcing considerable reductions in its national inorganic testing programmes, while Defra, who sponsor the Agency, continue to be plagued by funding cuts, the importance of local monitoring efforts and citizen science groups cannot be understated [21-23]. 


Among these, include Dene River Watch. 


Noticing a gradual decline in the health of the river Dene, but without the systematic data to quantifiably demonstrate the quality of its waters, local residents set up a water monitoring project at the end of 2024, with 13 volunteers running weekly tests at four different sites since January 2025. 


Speaking with Richard Brown from Dene River Watch, he told of the group's current work and future ambitions:


'The question is what to do with the information. Just doing the project raises awareness of the subject, and we’ve contributed pieces to the village newsletter to keep it in people’s minds.' While the group 'hold regular meetings with the Environment Agency, and Severn Trent Water' to interpret their findings, he explained that 'to make our impact more direct, we need to link our results to observable changes in the river environment so that we make it relevant, and that's our next challenge.' This ties directly into work being done at the University of Warwick to investigate the influence of the Wellesbourne sewage treatment works as a significant point source of pollution, while considering the health of the Dene with respect to the wider catchment.


For those interested in finding out more about Dene River Watch, I urge readers to check out the group's article published in the September issue of the Wellesbourne and Walton News:



Thank you for taking the time to read this month's issue of the UK River Report. I hope you found it informative. If you would like to get involved and raise awareness of river pollution in your area, please head over to the UK River Report website and check under the 'Get Involved' page to complete our survey, or feel free to get in touch via the 'Contact' page, if you feel you have more to discuss than the survey can offer. 


With hope for the future,

Federico 


References:


1. White M, Morris J. Fly-Tippers Bury Field in 'shocking' Mountain of Waste. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 November 23]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y4dxlgkp4o

 

2. Tappenden R. Suspect Released Over Fly-Tipped Waste Mountain. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 November 27]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d9ppp94e6o 


3. Spina-Matthews S. Mountain of Fly-Tipped Waste 'could have made £500k’. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 November 24]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ced6dj93dgno 


4. BBC. Critical Incident Declared Over Illegal Waste Dump. BBC; 2025. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 November 24]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjez2wpze2ko 


5. Gecsoyler S. Fly-Tippers Dump ‘mountain’ of Waste in Oxfordshire Field. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 November 23]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/15/fly-tippers-dump-mountain-of-waste-in-oxfordshire-field 


6. Kerins D. Man Arrested Over Fly-Tipped Mountain of Waste. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 November 25]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg1k15xwl0o 


7. Horton H. ‘Environmental catastrophe’ Fears as Millions of Plastic Beads Wash up on Camber Sands. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 November 26]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/08/environmental-catastrophe-fears-as-millions-of-plastic-beads-wash-up-on-camber-sands 


8. Dixon-French S, Dale B. Southern Water Sorry After Pellets Pollute Beach. BBC; 2025 [cited 2025 November 26]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yd771dn7no 


9. Horton H. Plastic Beads Spreading on Sussex Coast After ‘catastrophic’ Spill, Meeting Told. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 November 26]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/14/plastic-beads-spreading-sussex-coast-catastrophic-spill-meeting-told-camber-sands 


10. Rother District Council. Bio-Bead Pollution Incident – Camber Sands. Rother District Council; 2025. [cited 2025 November 27]. Available from: https://www.rother.gov.uk/leisure-and-events/beaches-and-coastline/camber-sands/bio-bead-pollution-incident-camber-sands/ 


11. Time and Date AS. Past Weather in Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom – October 2025. Time and Date AS; 2025. [cited 2025 November 27]. Available from: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/eastbourne/historic?month=10&year=2025 


12. Time and Date AS. Past Weather in Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom – November 2025. Time and Date AS; 2025. [cited 2025 November 27]. Available from: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/eastbourne/historic?month=11&year=2025 


13. Time and Date AS. Past Weather in Camber Sands, England, United Kingdom – October 2025. Time and Date AS; 2025. [cited 2025 November 27]. Available from: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@6697764/historic?month=10&year=2025 


14. Time and Date AS. Past Weather in Camber Sands, England, United Kingdom – November 2025. Time and Date AS; 2025. [cited 2025 November 27]. Available from: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@6697764/historic?month=11&year=2025 


15. Hall D. Ownership Without Investment in English Water-Net Capital Extraction by Shareholders of English & Welsh Water and Sewerage Companies 1990-2023. [Working Paper, Unpublished]. University of Greenwich; 2024. [cited 2025 November 28]. Available from: https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47165/3/47165%20HALL_Ownership_Without_Investment_In_English_Water-net_Capital_Extraction_2024.pdf 


16. Environment Agency. Record £90m Fine for Southern Water Following EA Prosecution. GOV.UK; 2021. [cited 2025 November 28]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-90m-fine-for-southern-water-following-ea-prosecution 


17. Horton H. At Least 15 English Sewage Plants Use Plastic Beads Spilled at Camber Sands. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 November 29]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/at-least-15-english-sewage-plants-use-plastic-beads-spilled-at-camber-sands 


18. Citizen’s Arrest Network. Breaking News: Citizen’s Arrest for “Disaster” Water CEO Lawrence Gosden at Industry Conference in London. Citizen’s Arrest Network; 2025. [cited 2025 November 29]. Available from: https://www.citizensarrestnetwork.org/press/2025/11/25/breaking-news-citizens-arrest-for-disaster-water-ceo-lawrence-gosden-at-industry-conference-in-london

 

19. Save Windermere. Introduce Legislation to End Sewage Discharges in Windermere. Change.org; 2025. [cited 2025 November 30]. Available from: https://www.change.org/p/introduce-legislation-to-end-sewage-discharges-in-windermere?utm_medium=custom_url&utm_source=share_petition&recruited_by_id=d28d36e0-1d84-11ea-a92e-d5e6d2b199eb 



21. Fisher J. Thousands of River Pollution Tests Cancelled Because of Staff Shortages. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 November 1]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24xy8zgp4o 


22. Environment Agency. Environment Agency Business Plan 2024 to 2025. GOV.UK; 2025. [cited 2025 November 1]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-business-plans/environment-agency-business-plan-2024-to-2025 


23. Horton H. Hard-Hit Defra to Have Budget Slashed Further Despite Warnings. The Guardian; 2024. [cited 2025 November 1]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/29/hard-hit-defra-to-have-budget-slashed-further-despite-warnings 

 
 
 

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

bottom of page