UK wins in water quality case

The European Court of Justice has decided in favour of the UK in a case brought against it relating to water quality and monitoring standards in the country, Utility Week reported.

According to the case brought by the European commission, the UK had not fulfilled its obligations under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

Specifically, its complaint related to the Britain's failure to identify several bodies of water as "sensitive to pollution" and its failure to meet stringent treatment standards for discharges in these areas.

Under the first charge, the court ruled that it must be dismissed in its entirety, while the second complaint was rejected as "partly inadmissible and partly unfounded".

Commenting on the ruling, a spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the publication: "We are pleased with the decision. Water quality in England and Wales is better than at any time since the industrial revolution and we are still working on improvements."

On December 21st, Defra announced that it is consulting on its updated strategy for inland waterways in England and Wales.

Posted by Claire Manning