HIGHER TARGETS FOR RIVER WATER QUALITY

That this House notes with concern that only 21 per cent. of rivers in England and 33 per cent. in Wales are of Good Ecological Status according to European Water Framework Directive criteria, which measure a river's chemical and biological health, and that the Environment Agency plans to increase this proportion to just 26 per cent. and 35 per cent. by 2015; and therefore calls on the Government to urge the Environment Agency to set more ambitious standards for improving river water quality, which according to a Regulatory Impact Assessment conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could generate economic benefits of £3.6 billion.