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Data and Facts - Gaps

Not just sewage infrastructure holes to act on!

Knowing what we don’t know, is as important as the data that is available to us. Surprise, surprise, there are lots of gaps in data, information is legally inaccessible, or takes wading through bureaucratic systems, stonewalling and obfuscation. Here's just a few of the sink holes and eddy pools to watch out for...

  • Environmental Protection Act Part II is almost unenforceable and unfit for purpose. The Environment Agency (England) can downgrade pollution events from Category 2 or 3 to Cat. 4’s. which involve no enforcement actions, Minimising significance is a disturbingly commonplace practice. Elsewhere, letters to local authorities can result in only partial information sharing, or even incompetence, lost records, or historical memory loss as staff retire and leave.

    • Environment Agency failing to monitor water firms in England, data suggests
    • Selective water testing by water companies, local and national authorities may only mean water samples being taken from mid-depth of rivers, excluding silt deposits, where most toxic industrial legacy cocktails lie.
    • Water companies can selectively dispense with water testing results, which can suit their purposes. In sewage overflow incidents, they may fail to provide representative data to regulators on licence breaches. More recently, most water companies now have monitoring devices at combined sewage overflow outlets, but the efficacy of the technology and the interpretation of the data flowing from these needs scrutiny.
      • Water companies can also stop sewage outflow at treatment plants to avoid Environment Agency monitoring effectively during site checks. Having advance notice of checks, rather than spot checks, allows this. This practice is a question you might want to ask of your water company.

  • Defra's designated 'bathing water' status is an opaque application process. While it does require closer monitoring by the authorities when achieved, the idea is deeply flawed. See: 'The Great Washout: The Futility of Bathing Water Status' - Public applications generally result in a rejection.

  • You cannot trust a Blue Flag bathing beach safety categorisation. Even those beaches with apparent 'excellent' rating. Raw sewage contamination is still a risk, especially after heavy rain. Signs on-site, warning bathers of hazards can be risible at best, and virtually invisible at worst! Check this out!

  • Remember too that sewage is only one among other contaminants that pose a risk to your family's health. Check this government guidance on swimming outdoors. Beware, this says nothing of chemical pollution, which could be particularly risky if a beach borders a historic landfill, or industrial sites.

  • More power to your paddleboarding elbow here:

  • Water company improvement plans may be completely unfit for purpose and lack public input. Inviting water companies to a community assembly to increase accountability and transparency can be a useful way for your local community to ensure they stay on track.

    • A recent community assembly in Wrexham was hailed by local rebels as really useful and the beginning of good connections made with the local water company and the regulatory body. Let's watch the Community Assemblies case studies where local groups address water issues!

  • Sewage overflow incident data from water companies may not be real-time. For instance, water companies share information with the. Rivers Trust, who produce a sewage map of overflow event numbers and volume. Valuable as that resource is, it isn't yet ideal until real-time monitoring data is available there.

  • One option is writing a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to water companies to get exact data. Wording needs to be well-crafted, to prevent your responder from side-stepping a question. Fortunately, help is available: FoI letter template help here

  • Ministry of Defence sites formerly used for weapons testing are subject to secrecy laws and confidentiality practices (e.g. 'D Notices', which forbid public access on the basis of ‘national security’). Find out more about the legacy of our military on our environment here:

  • Nature-based solutions across UK local planning regimes still leave much to be desired. For instance:

    • Does your local authority have a flood risk mitigation strategy? If so, does it include recommendations for tree planting? If your local authority has that documented, are financial constraints hindering implementing and meeting targets? Is this a potential community assembly in the making to bring local people together behind such projects?
    • What provision is made for e.g. rewilding areas through upstream land works to let straightened river stretches go back to historic natural paths? Is there scope for beaver population releases to achieve natural landscape engineering affordably and at scale? Does your local nature partnership (LNP), or other national network which involves local communities and lay experts recommend other habitat management plans to mitigate impacts? You may already have connections with local NGO's, but also check out:

  • Another splash to make is if your local authority has declared a Climate Emergency? If so, where local landfill sites have a toxic legacy, you can reasonably ask what remediation and mitigation provision is made for leachate risks from heavy rainfall as part of that planning process. Are there buffer mechanisms between buried toxic waste and water courses? Some plants reabsorb toxic elements in soils. Are these options for your local community to request?

    • So many questions arise around toxic landfill... Be sure to check out our Dirty Water Social Justice page. Alternatively, contact the Dirty Water crew on your local issue to share knowledge and experience! If this is an area of concern for you, we would love to hear from you via our Telegram and Mattermost channels!

  • Plastic pollution So much to say and so many organisations already operating in this space, for now, check out our sources of pollution page for links and watch out for spreadsheets of potential allies, coming soon.

    • If the circular economy and prevention better than recycling is a track you want to follow, the Ellen McArthur Foundation is a good start.
Where's The Nearest Lighthouse?

Given this lack of transparency and availability of information from authorities and companies, one lever for your group to find information you need is to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. FoI requests are a useful tool to obtain information of any kind from those in power, be they regulatory authorities, government departments, local and unitary authorities, or private companies. That said, FoI requests are not always effectively responded to, particularly if you miss any tricks on how to exercise your rights. FoI requests are a skill worth developing as a group.

  • Fortunately, What Do They Know helps you avoid wipeout, offering existing case studies and template letters. Surf the constant tide of previous cases similar to your local situation. Search for information on your water horizon via their website and share your information with others entering those waters after you.

    • A case study on their website, for instance, refers to a local Wales resident who has put in a Freedom of Information request to the national regulatory body, Natural Resources Wales. Now, anyone searching the site for "leachate" will bring this request and similar example cases up. This invaluable resource means your local group will not have to be put off by having to reinvent the wheel and can avoid missing essential questions and exactly how to ask them in your Freedom of Information request.

  • Commissioning independent scientific analysis or reports from consultants means knowing what questions to ask your potential contractor. You need to avoid their conflicts of interest with contracts with local authorities or water companies, for instance. Check if they have such contracts, or have had in the past; this could mean that if you hire them, your data could be compromised by pre-existing confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, limiting your available data. That risks getting the information you need to hold bodies to account.

    • It is helpful if an independent contractor is to be commissioned to provide your local group with any scientific or engineering report, that you ask them in advance if they obtain any more than 10% of their work from authorities or companies you seek to challenge. If they do significant amounts of work for eg a water company, a local council, or a water regulator, that could mean they will have a conflict of interest. If they are legally bound by in working for those bodies you want to hold to account, then go elsewhere! Greenpeace labs and some university engineering and chemistry departments have been known to support local groups in their research. We'd love to hear of your experiences here.

    • Allies Ahoy! Do you trust the information being provided by your identified engineer, environmental auditor, or other contractor? If not, talk to independent allies such as Friends of the Earth, who may have historic documentation or community connections to bring more information to light.

    • You will want to check that risk out before you fundraise for such an important fact-finding project. Let's not burn out on such an involved deep dive. If you haven't got the funds to source an independent report, might a crowd-funder help? Get in touch with our
      Fundraising crew RT shelf

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