The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), a government watchdog, is investigating the UK government over potential failures to clean up England’s rivers in accordance with EU-derived laws. In a report published last year, the OEP stated that the plans to clean up waterways were too general and did not address specific issues at individual sites. The watchdog expressed concerns about the government’s low confidence in achieving the objectives of these plans. The OEP’s investigation will determine whether these issues represent failures by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to meet environmental law requirements.

Jul-23-22 The OEP was established after Brexit to hold the government accountable under the Environment Act 2021, which replaced EU law as a means of enforcing environmental standards. The report by the OEP revealed that water regulation standards were not being followed, making it highly likely that the targets to clean up England’s rivers by 2027 would not be met.

While part of the EU, England was covered by the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which involved a national chemical and ecological survey of rivers conducted annually. After Brexit, England deviated from EU water monitoring standards and transposed the WFD into English law. Since 2016, the government has been testing water quality under the WFD every three years instead of annually. In 2019, the last time comprehensive water assessments were conducted, only 14% of rivers were in good ecological health, and none met the standards for good chemical health. The next results are expected this year.

The European Union has reinforced testing under the WFD and added 12 new pollutants to its watchlist. The Labour government has stated that its independent water commission, due to report in the coming months, will assess the efficiency of the directive, and there is a possibility that the UK will further diverge from it. A past Guardian investigation found that the UK has deviated from multiple EU environmental laws since Brexit, with legislation generally being weakened and leaving nature less protected.

Helen Venn, the OEP’s chief regulatory officer, stated that they are awaiting the results of the

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/20/watchdog-investigating-whether-defra-breaking-laws-on-cleaning-up-english-rivers