Sewage, slurry and plastic coursing through English rivers

Sewage, animal waste and chemicals are choking the life from English rivers, a group of cross-party MPs have warned. In report parliament, Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) blamed England's dirty water on "chronic underinvestment" and failures in governance.

Pollution from agriculture, sewage, roads and single-use plastics is contributing to a dangerous chemical cocktail through our waterways, with only 14% of rivers deemed to have good ecological health.

With significant cuts to the Environment Agency hindering it from detecting pollution, Many of England's rivers are underfunded and have outdated monitoring making it difficult to fully understand the state some are in.

The EA and water companies should clearly notify the public about sewage discharges, so they don't swim in areas with harmful bacteria found in sewage and animal slurry, they said.

The government has brought in legal obligations to make water companies reduce storm overflows, which discharge household waste into waterways when sewers are overwhelmed.

Pollution from intensive farming, in particular, chicken farms is the most common cause of pollution for these rivers. An excess of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen leaked into water cause algae to bloom to high levels in water- that's the cause of the thick, bright green layer often seen coating waterways.  This can often prevent oxygen from getting into the water in turn suffocating the life beneath the surface.

Oils and fats poured down sinks in homes and restaurants are adding to the huge numbers of hygiene items like wet wipes that make their way into waterways.

"Many of the recommendations mirror proposals set out in our recent 21st Century Rivers report, which calls for government, regulators, water companies, agriculture, and other sectors to come together and create a comprehensive national plan to transform our rivers."

How we behave at home and outside also plays a role.