Getting a complete overview of the health of our rivers and the pollution affecting them is hampered by outdated, underfunded and inadequate monitoring regimes. It is clear, however, that rivers in England are in a mess. A ‘chemical cocktail’ of sewage, agricultural waste, and plastic is polluting the waters of many of the country’s rivers. … Continue reading Environmental Audit Committee Report – SPS summary
Category: News in Focus
Flood Risk Management Plans 2021-2027
FRMPs are strategic plans that set out how to manage flood risk in nationally identified flood risk areas (FRAs) for the period 2021-2027, and are statutory plans required by the Flood Risk Regulations 2009. There are 10 draft FRMPs, one for each river basin district: The Environment Agency have worked together with Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) … Continue reading Flood Risk Management Plans 2021-2027
SPS Pollution Group Progress Report – January 2022
Eling Wharf Back in October 2021, we reported on the worrying state of the sea walls at Eling Wharf. The walls of the wharf are showing distinct signs of possible collapse risking not only injury but also contamination and pollution of the surrounding water. A letter has been sent to ABP regarding the condition of … Continue reading SPS Pollution Group Progress Report – January 2022
Anticipating Sea Level Rise
There have been many articles published recently predicting the future extent of tidal flooding and some show an horrific picture. It is important therefore to understand how these scenarios are derived. In simplistic terms we start with a “Digital Terrain Model” (DTM). This is the computer equivalent of a physical model of the land and … Continue reading Anticipating Sea Level Rise
Analysis of more than 40,000 hours of sewage discharge into the Solent during 2020
Solent Protection Society (SPS) has analysed the Environment Agency (EA) annual data for sewage overflow spills in 2020 and has extracted the spills that flow into the Solent either directly of from its tidal rivers and estuaries. This data is more comprehensive than the useful but limited information from Southern Water’s Beachbuoy web application To … Continue reading Analysis of more than 40,000 hours of sewage discharge into the Solent during 2020
SPS position on the changes to the Environment Bill – October 2021
Solent Protection Society is extremely disappointed at the actions taken by the Government in voting against the House of Lords amendment to the Environment Bill. This was in direct contravention to a statement given last March that promised "Measures to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows will be put into law, the government confirmed today … Continue reading SPS position on the changes to the Environment Bill – October 2021
Eling Creek – Temporary exclusion zone
On 14th October 2021 Southampton Harbour Master issued a temporary Notice to Mariners expected to last six months banning any vessels from manoeuvring within 5 metres of Eling wharf. This was caused by the state of disrepair of the wooden part of the quay. The state of the quay has been of concern for at … Continue reading Eling Creek – Temporary exclusion zone
The Solent Freeport puts our focus back on Dibden Bay
In the 2021 March budget, the Solent was shortlisted as the potential site for one of eight Freeports to be set up in the United Kingdom. The Government’s Freeport ‘Bid Prospectus’ set out the overall scale of a Freeport and demonstrated how the maximum ‘outer boundary’, a 45Km circle, could fit with the geography of … Continue reading The Solent Freeport puts our focus back on Dibden Bay
Solent Combined Sewage Outfall (CSO) spills
August 2021 In June we posted an article on the much improved Southern Water Beachbuoy realtime monitoring of spills into the seas around our coast. The data is limited to which spills might affect bathing water beaches as this comes under more stringent legislation.. During May and June we logged all the spills into the … Continue reading Solent Combined Sewage Outfall (CSO) spills
Southern Water’s ‘Beachbuoy’ spill monitoring
Until recently, Southern Water's Beachbuoy web page has been a simple facility, limited to just a few sites and arguably simply a PR exercise given the criticism frequently levelled at the company. Over the past few weeks however, we have been pleased to see that the basic function of the original page has been replaced … Continue reading Southern Water’s ‘Beachbuoy’ spill monitoring
Solent Protection Society 