Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a long-term target to improve quality of freshwater that includes (a) the extent of waters achieving high ecological status, (b) an inland bathing standard, (c) small waters such as headwater streams, small lakes, ponds and ditches and wetland habitats that are not currently covered by the Water Framework Directive; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has introduced a long-term target to bring three quarters of England’s rivers and other surface water to as close as possible to their natural condition, as soon as is practicable. This equates to good ecological status.

Inland bathing waters are currenty assessed to the standards set out in the Bathing Water Regulations (2013). They apply where bathing water designations are made following applications from interested parties using the established process. To date only a small number of inland lakes have been designated as bathing waters although Defra is currently consulting on an application for bathing water status in a stretch of the River Wharfe at Ilkley.

We recognise that small water bodies are an important component of the aquatic environment. Whilst headwaters should broadly be in as good a condition as the rivers they feed into, the science is not developed enough to allow target setting for the diverse range of headwaters, nor the other types of small water bodies. The Environment Agency is planning to start wider monitoring in some headwater and smaller streams next year as part of its new River Surveillance Network.