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email this page to a friendRadical new plans were announced today to improve water quality in ten of the most important river basins in England and Wales, including the Humber and the North West regions which are fed by rivers flowing out of the Yorkshire Dales.
The environment agency Defra announced ten River Basin Management Plans to improve the quality of water reaching the coast and support the return if threatened wildlife species like otters and salmon.
Making the announcement, Defra Secretary Hilary Benn said the plans would help build on the improvements of the last 20 years, which had seen a steady growth of the otter population and the return of the salmon to rivers like the Thames and even the Mersey, once the most polluted river in Europe.
