How some farmers are breaking the rules on river pollution - but escaping prosecution

The pollution of our rivers has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months, with much of the focus on how water companies discharge sewage.
(Subscribe: bit.ly/C4_News_Subscribe)
But farming also plays a significant role - with run-off from fertilisers and pesticides.
An investigation by Channel 4 News can reveal that there have been more than 1,300 breaches of the rules brought in to deal with water pollution from agriculture but not a single prosecution.
The Environment Agency says they take a proportionate approach that uses advice and guidance first.
-----------------------
Follow us on Instagram - / channel4news

[@KOL630]

The Tory’s have allowed farmers to use previously banned substances to kill pests too so this inevitably ends up in the river. Terrible. Farming is important but it needs to be done responsibly and the government needs to enforce it.

[@iangriffiths985]

The pollution in the video was not pesticide.

[@honourthefire9182]

I used to appreciate Farmers, farm hands and those who have farmed their land for generations. It keeps you in the present moment much of the time. Mother Nature does that. Farmers must be called to account for this. Its the land, rivers, oceans and future generations that will pay the price for this.

[@yellowgreen5229]

Current farmers are just heritors of land stolen from British workers.

[@Joeink100]

Most of the time it's sewage plants doing this, those sewage treatment plants blame the farmers, some farms do it but the majority of lake pollution is sewage

[@yellowgreen5229]

@@Joeink100 that isn't true, many farms produce more waste than small towns because of nitrate fertiliser and animal agriculture,

[@rr-jp7kg]

When I lived in the UK I used to hear about increasing levels of pollution in the rivers. Apparently it is getting worse and will get worse as the UK population continues to increase. The government can't do and won't do anything to stop it

[@dontnoable]

*as the UK population of farmed animals grows

[@Boo-pv4hn]

It’s not they can’t it’s literally they won’t, they choose to let them get away with it. We need more pressure on the government when my mum grew up she said you could find axelotyl regularly. Now we just see birds the occasional squirrel and the odd hedgehog oh and ALOT of foxes.. about the only thing that’s prospered by a lot of peoples throw trash everywhere attitude. The reality is we’ve already killed of so many species and ALOT more are critically endangered or endangered. There need to be world wide controls on plant gathering from the wild and wildlife collecting for research or sale.

[@toriesdontgettazered7464]

Not in Scotland

[@Sleepflowrr]

?

[@JanKopanski]

How much damage can Truss do to the UK as she was the Environment secretary back then...

[@hanselmansell7555]

Who cares? Certainly not our 'politicians' 😡

[@Boo-pv4hn]

They may not but every day people do..like those doing the gathering and the research.a lot of us are trying to do our part including home growing fruit and veg and communal allotments people taking it upon themselves to make communal gardens more wildlife friendly . Our local town in recent years has been planting hundreds of trees. Re sowing wild native plant seeds. Leaving grass patches to rewild. People making home grown honey. Housing battery hens to have eggs. The reality is we can only do so much.

[@soton5teve]

Election now, then you can separate the business & environment agency, that was put together to de-tooth the environment agency

[@telesamgram1318]

The country who gave the world Sir David also gave us Liz Truss. What a disgrace!

[@dr_ned_flanders]

(singing) A good brook these days is hard to find. Clean water, not the polluted kind. A good brook these days is hard to find. So please be gentle with the water.

[@vole12]

My fishing season was stuffed thanks to sewage . United Utilties the culprits .

[@portcullis5622]

United Utilities are a bunch of greedy, irresponsible, selfish c***s and should be disbanded.

[@calderarecords]

There are many solutions but it requires funding, but the Water companies prefer profit to progress & the Government are petrified of upsetting people with such exuberant funds at their disposal. "Pollution is the physical expression of corruption."

[@mikeharvey9811]

Extinction Rebellion should bottle this water and deliver it to parliament, I’d deliver one to my mp and my daughter would deliver one to Mogg. Barb

[@kaymish6178]

We have the same problem in New Zealand. The farmers are climate vandals the world round. Farmers in Canterbury have poisoned their own drinking water with nitrate pollution, and so many rivers have become purified.

[@riklangham6739]

putrefied ?

[@user-wickedflower]

Bullshit, we farmers have to fence off any waterways on our farms, for years. As a British person that moved to NZ I know both sides & England is way worse. The bays have the water tested every week & only after a high tide the levels mean no swimming for a few days. Tell the truth not fear mongering.

[@tropics8407]

Support and work with your farmers. If GB is not self sufficient and not producing and exporting food then you are importing thus bleeding away your country’s productive capacity. 🤔🤔

[@t-rex4211]

Thiss iss a ssseroiusss problem. Companiess sshould be prothecuted

[@Boo-pv4hn]

Is this really a surprise? It’s sad we’ve had to wait till 2022 for it to be looked into and made news

[@shanehumberstone5262]

Accountability is well overdue for any polluters

[@eelm2079]

it's crazy I'd put this problem at everyone's top3-5 issues in the country but government and people are too busy bickering about which parties better

[@ascgazz]

Nice reminder that Rory Stewart was a supportive Tory to Truss for a while once.

[@pauln6803]

He was in the mould of Theresa May: a party loyalist... Until the party was no longer loyal to him.

[@234cheech]

its greed thats what it comes down tooo sick greed

[@iangriffiths985]

If you mean overpopulation in the UK means we need a lot of food then yes, the country is greedy in wanting to eat. Or if you mean farmers are paying a grand a ton for fertiliser to let it run off in to rivers then not I can assure you that's not because they're greedy.

[@MonsterMacLLC]

If some crops are better at root retention than others, could/shouldn’t we be staggering the crop rotation a bit on species that could accelerate preservation?

[@ascgazz]

Try watching the video 😂😂😂😂

[@dontnoable]

What about farmed animals, and all the food that's grown to feed those millions of animals every year in the UK alone?

[@ascgazz]

@@dontnoable what about them??

[@Boo-pv4hn]

@@dontnoable that’s majorly a problem with the retailers requesting way over what they need.

[@dontnoable]

@@Boo-pv4hn The most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet was undertaken by Oxford University, published in the journal Science. The study created a huge dataset based on almost 40,000 farms in 119 countries and covering 40 food products that represent 90% of all that is eaten. It assessed the full impact of these foods, from farm to fork, on land use, climate change emissions, freshwater use and water pollution (eutrophication) and air pollution (acidification). It's farming animals that's the problem. And the scientists involved said the single most impactful thing a person can do is go vegan.

[@janjan-dd4wv]

Farmers are high polluters in other ways. Slurry and slurry tankers, diesel powered tractors also pollute the air and our lungs

[@hanselmansell7555]

Ahhhhh....water companies, again.... 💩💦#privatisation

[@charlesflouvat1829]

How many voters go fishing every week?

[@234cheech]

many

[@aferalunicorn1832]

Probably less, because the fish are dead

[@rr-jp7kg]

I'd guess about 2.

[@rr-jp7kg]

It's okay, never fear, the NHS is here.

[@drumminslife]

What are the compounds that are polluting rivers but good for the plants Dave is growing? (Nitrates, at least, are mentioned at one point.)

[@MrBoggins1234]

Nitrates, phosphates, Potassium, lithium, human excrement (via water treatment works) chicken offal and it's bacteria. All of which poisons riverlife and humans . The more one looks into this the more ridiculously myopic we as humans are when conflicted business men, supported by the most damaging element of the conservative party justify, what a single business, or market, does for it's owners dividends and capital growth.

[@adrianthoroughgood1191]

It's not the chemicals themselves that are poisonous. Fertiliser, both synthic and natural (manure), run from the field where it is needed into the river where it isn't. The fertiliser feeds algae growth and it's the algae that's harmful.

[@drumminslife]

@@adrianthoroughgood1191 Huh the video makes it sound like there are things that are toxic to humans (or mammals and fish) getting into the water and that the field crops can absorb those. The Potassium, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus chemicals/compounds used as fertilizer aren't as toxic to humans per particle as some of the things we put in our own water supply (such as Flouride and Chlorine).

[@manufacturingdissent666]

and if the government isnt policing this, will they police fracking with the same rigor

[@martinobrien7110]

The River Lee stinks to high heaven.

[@ianmangham4570]

River rother in Chesterfield smells like SEWAGE

[@iangriffiths985]

Newman: bUt wHo cAn wE bLaMe.

[@p-james]

How will this be blamed on the EU?

[@toriesdontgettazered7464]

Should not have voted for Brexit that way UK government and farmers wouldve had regulations to follow for the good of the environment ...

[@shanehumberstone5262]

I and many others pay the environment agency a lot each year to use our boats on rivers,they can’t even afford to keep the rivers fully operational for use,so where is all the money actually going

[@exme3814]

0:12-0:20

[@Waltzhybrid92]

Supporters of Julian Assange host international day of action against his extradition

[@danhurley6152]

There are solar farms in my area causing serious run off problems into the river the water runs straight off acres of glass basically onto neighbouring arable feilds then on down to the river , the environment agency have built bunds along ditches last year to try and hold and slow the water down from washing the nitrates off the farm land

[@charlesflouvat1829]

Farmer's have been saying that there was no rain this year 🙄

[@charlesflouvat1829]

Farmer's said that there wasn't enough rain this year 🙄

[@12bigredd]

lol yeah lets look at the little people not the big companies doing 10 times worse lol

[@JohnnyMotel99]

Pollution is good for the GDP! /s

[@shaunstracey-kemp8210]

Did this liz truss

[@spitfirered]

I Don't Think This Is The Farmers, It's Big Corporations causing All This Damage, This Is Another Way To Stop Farming And If You Believe This Story, Then You Will Starve If You Don't Do Something About It, You Know Media Sticks Up For The Big Guys But Not For Those Who Try To Keep The Food Chain Going!

[@mickmulcahy6851]

He’s Kevin what I like to do he doesn’t

[@moussaouiahmed]

..........................................AM

[@tonychicas5316]

You guys going kill all your fish 🐟....

[@betabenja]

brexit

[@soton5teve]

The causes are near by businesses, maybe show them, with a "well the fish are alive, and the river is fine here, but just passed this business, it's dead.

[@dominospizza4386]

Do you think the businesses would fail if they were forced to be more environmentally considerate?

[@Will111ism]

#Propaganda ☆

[@Will111ism]

@You Tube don't be jealous

[@sameaulahad2824]

How can you say you love your country when you do this much damage to it?

[@robertskolimowski7049]

My sentiments exactly, however, that's how many interpret capitalism - striving to make money no matter the cost whatsoever, ethics?, what ethics?, sad😔 ✌

[@sameaulahad2824]

@@robertskolimowski7049 to much of capitalism replied on the other person actually giving. Not just one party taking

[@AntonioMarino5763]

Uk happy fish🙌🏻

[@234cheech]

all farm lands felds that rivers run along should bee took then that land put back for the wildlife thats the thing thats needed

[@iangriffiths985]

Yeah and feed fewer people, good idea.

[@dontnoable]

@@iangriffiths985Farming animals needs to come to an end. It takes up so much in terms of resources like food, water, landspace and encroachment on wildlife and pollutes and kills waterways