Nitrate pollution under spotlight

Under review

A formal inquiry into nitrate pollution has been launched with the aim of understanding the scale of the problem and how most of it occurs, as well as the likely impact on human health and the environment. Ultimately, the inquiry is designed to find out if the way nitrate pollution is currently being regulated is appropriate and effective.

What is nitrate pollution?

Nitrate pollution is essentially the contamination of water sources caused by the build up of excessive amounts of nitrates washed out from inorganic fertilisers. Such compounds cause eutrophication and algal blooms which reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, harming wildlife, plus it’s linked to blood poisoning in infants and stomach cancer in older people.

Most nitrate pollution comes from the use of fertilisers on farms and from sewage. But nitrates can also occur as a result of mining and through air pollution. Plus there are nitrates stored in rock formations which can be released into water if disturbed.

What’s prompted the investigation?

The UK is not meeting the standards set out in the Water Framework Directive 2000 which demanded that all bodies of water, including rivers, lakes, groundwaters and coastal waters were of a “good” ecological status by 2015. However, in August 2017 an assessment suggested that just 16% of water met that standard - a worse situation than in 2015. According to the Environment Agency, given the poor state of its watercourses, England is not likely to hit the target until 2027.

Note. It is not only the fault of nitrates that the UK’s water is in such a polluted state. Nitrates are responsible for just 2% of water bodies not meeting the EU standard, while phosphates are responsible for 57% of the problems.

What happens next?

The UK government is set to come down harder on companies that breach water contamination rules. In April 2018 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ new rules for farmers to deal specifically with diffuse water pollution come into effect. These will make sure farmers better manage their fertilisers and manures to prevent run-off and soil erosion negatively affecting the local watercourse.

Meanwhile, the Nitrates Directive 1991 means that if your site sits within a “nitrate vulnerable zone” - a designated area of land that drains into nitrate polluted waters, or waters that could become polluted by nitrates - you are subject to stricter rules, forcing you to operate more sensitively.

The investigation will look into just how bad nitrate pollution is and whether it will get any worse, the different sources of nitrate pollution, and what the government should be doing to reduce this type of pollution faster.

Tip. If your operations are currently regulated under any of the nitrate-related legislation, they are likely to be monitored more closely in the future. Larger fines are on the cards for non-compliance.