River flows improving, says Environment Agency

An agency programme has helped restore nearly 600 miles of rivers in England and Wales to a healthier state in the past 12 years

UK's first climate change risk assessment launched

The government has published thousands of pages examining the threats and opportunities posed by inevitable climate change, in order to encourage adaptation.

Permit breaches cost waste firm £22k

An illegal scrapyard above an aquifer in Pembrokeshire risked contaminating water supplies

Permit breaches cost aggregates firm £46k

Hastings magistrates have fined a Kent company for multiple landfill permit breaches

First drinking water fine for Scottish Water

The water firm has been fined £1,000 for supplying water unfit for human consumption

Landowner and contractor fined for illegal water works

Perth sheriff court has levied fines totalling £9,900 for illegal works on the river Tay

Two water firms fined for sewage spill pollution

Thames Water and South West Water face a combined bill of £32,000 for spilling sewage into watercourses.

EU phosphate ban to cover detergents

Home laundry and dishwasher detergents will be phosphate-free from 2017.

Utility to create power from drinking water

Scottish Water plans to install turbines in its large supply pipes to generate electricity.

Water pollution costs pig farm £18k

A Suffolk farming company has been fined for breaching the Environmental Permitting Regulations

MPs in doubt over who's in charge of flood defence

Spliting responsibility for flood protection between national bodies and local councils risks leaving no one in overall charge, the MPs say

Infographic: Water industry's sustainability progress a mixed picture

Sustainability indicators of the water industry show both decline and progress over the past year, according to Water UK's latest report on sustainability.

How water abstraction works... or doesn’t

There are currently 21,500 abstraction licences in England and Wales work, but most give the owner the right to abstract water forever

Little improvement in river water quality, shows latest WFD report

English and Welsh rivers are little closer to Water Framework Directive targets, Environment Agency figures show. The “unambitious” targets have many critics.

Consultation on extending nitrate rules across England and Wales

Nitrate vulnerable zones that currently limit fertiliser and manure spreading on farms in parts of England and Wales could be extended to the entire country.

Quick links to key documents and reports

• 2 February 2012

  Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Bill 2010-11

• 2 February 2012

  Environment Agency: Catchment Flood Management Plan Annual Report 2011

• 1 February 2012

  DEFRA summary of responses to the consultation on the proposal to abolish the Inland Waterways Advisory Council

• 1 February 2012

  Scottish government consultation on proposals for a Water Resources Bill