A total of 14.3% of England's surface waters are considered to be of "good ecological status", according to the Environment Agency (EA).

The announcement comes today (Thursday, August 6) following the release of the latest Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (WFDR) classifications, which are updated every six years.

The report analysed the health of England's rivers, lakes, estuaries and groundwater.

All 4,658 surface water bodies in England were assessed against a range of standards covering wildlife, water quality and physical habitat.

Within the report, each water body was classified as 'high', 'good', 'moderate', 'poor' or 'bad'.

The latest classifications show that 65% of surface water bodies are at 'moderate' status, while 17% are classified as poor, with a further 3.1% considered to be at 'bad' status.

The report stated that only 0.1% of the water bodies achieved the top ranking of 'high status'.

Assessment

The proportion of water bodies achieving good ecological status in this latest report is lower than the 16.3% recorded in 2019.

However, the EA stressed that the two datasets cannot be directly compared due to changes in the way that water bodies were assessed.

The latest assessment uses a wider range of monitoring data and focuses on locations where the agency suspected problems were more likely to be found.

The current classification system also operates under a "one-out, all-out" rule, meaning a single failing element can result in an entire water body failing to achieve good overall status.

The EA noted that around one-third of water bodies that failed to achieve 'good' status did so because of just one element.

For example, the River Foss achieved 'good' status across every ecological indicator except phosphate, which was rated as 'moderate'.

As a result, its overall ecological status was classified as 'moderate', despite the EA stating that the river remains a healthy environment for fish, plants and invertebrates.

Water quality

Despite the overall figures, the underlying data shows that 82% of individual ecological indicators are now rated as either 'good' or 'high'.

Ammonia levels were rated as good or better in 92.9% of cases.

Groundwater results also showed a slight improvement, with 41% of England's 272 groundwater bodies achieving 'good' status, compared with 37% in 2019.

However, all surface waters reportedly continue to fail to achieve good chemical status.

The EA stated that this is largely due to persistent pollutants which accumulate in the environment and can take decades to break down.

According to the agency, water quality can be affected by a range of factors, including sewage spills, agricultural nutrients, and urban and transport surface water run-off.

Farmers

The EA said that it will use the report's data to work with water companies, farmers, and communities to target investment and enforcement where it is most needed.

The agency is also set to increase farm inspections from 4,000 to 6,000 annually over the next three years.

EA chair Alan Lovell said the latest classifications provide a clearer picture of where action is required.

"We share the public's ambition for faster progress, which is why we are transforming our enforcement work with better data, stronger powers and our largest workforce ever," he commented.

Lovell added that the agency is using the available evidence to direct "sustained improvement action" from water companies, farmers, businesses and councils.

The EA also noted that it has significantly increased its enforcement activity, carrying out a record 10,000 inspections of water company sites and increasing criminal investigations into breaches.

Since 2015, the agency stated that it has concluded more than 70 prosecutions against water and sewage companies, resulting in fines of more than £158 million.