banner
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge
@rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
15K followers 900 following 180 posts
Environmental journalist. Founder of investigative journalism non-profit https://watershedinvestigations.com/ Bylines: @guardian @thetimes @bbc @SkyNews @itv Ex: @TheENDSReport @PenguinUKBooks @independent [email protected]
watershedinvestigations.com
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · Jun 22
Part two of my investigation into England's water resources.

In short, the system is outdated, under-monitored, economically skewed, and environmentally risky, with reforms needed to avoid long-term water shortages.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
4 100 180
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 11d
NEW! Thames Water’s £500m desalination plant has delivered just 7 days’ water in 15 years (plus chemical leaks). Now it wants to spend another £500m to suck water from Thames, replace it with treated sewage, all while losing 570m litres a day to leaks www.theguardian.com/business/202...
£500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years
Plant in Beckton has run only five times and has been beset by multiple problems since it was built
www.theguardian.com
1 56 100
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 11d
Ed Davey's not mad keen on Thames Water's new project, calling it "ludicrous" and "stupid"...
28 58
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 12d
EXCLUSIVE: £500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years! 1/4
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
£500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years
Plant in Beckton has run only five times and has been beset by multiple problems since it was built
www.theguardian.com
3 41 57
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 11d
NEW! Thames Water’s £500m desalination plant has delivered just 7 days’ water in 15 years (plus chemical leaks). Now it wants to spend another £500m to suck water from Thames, replace it with treated sewage, all while losing 570m litres a day to leaks www.theguardian.com/business/202...
£500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years
Plant in Beckton has run only five times and has been beset by multiple problems since it was built
www.theguardian.com
1 56 100
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 12d
River abstraction has soared 76% over two decades, threatening rivers, ecosystems and future supply. Water companies fall back on extracting more from already stressed rivers 4/4
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
England’s rivers ‘under threat’ as water extraction surges to record levels
Exclusive: Investigation finds 76% rise in water taken from rivers and lakes for industrial or public consumption in two decades
www.theguardian.com
2 43 68
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 12d
Meanwhile, England’s water system is riddled with opacity: bulk users (agriculture, industry, data centres) often escape scrutiny thanks to outdated licenses and weak reporting. Many licences have no expiry, no volume caps, or are seldom enforced. 3/4
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
How England’s outdated water tracking system leaves regulators in the dark
Experts warn accurately monitoring consumption by bulk users such as farmers, datacentres and businesses can be all but impossible
www.theguardian.com
4 25 52
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 12d
Now it plans another £500m scheme on the river Thames. Taking more water at times of drought when the river can least afford to lose it, replacing it with treated sewage. 2/4
1 11 26
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 12d
EXCLUSIVE: £500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years! 1/4
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
£500m Thames Water desalination plant has provided just seven days’ water over 15 years
Plant in Beckton has run only five times and has been beset by multiple problems since it was built
www.theguardian.com
3 41 57
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 22d
Google data centres coming to Hertfordshire?! Sounds a lot like the final nail in an already well-nailed coffin for the local chalk streams. Or will the water be sucked out of the Thames at Teddington for it under Thames Water’s current plans? Keep your beady eyes on this.
13 110 240
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
EXCLUSIVE: England’s farms are being fertilised with a cocktail of toxic landfill juice + sewage sludge.

750,000 tonnes of landfill leachate tankered to sewage works every year → mixed into sewage → spread on farmers' fields. 1/

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Thousands of tonnes of toxic landfill liquid added to sewage and spread on English farms
Exclusive: Leachate is tankered to treatment works where it mixes with sewage and industrial effluent
www.theguardian.com
14 120 170
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
England’s farmland is becoming the dumping ground for industrial waste. The rules are outdated. The oversight is broken. And the public is only just being told. 6/
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Thousands of tonnes of toxic landfill liquid added to sewage and spread on English farms
Exclusive: Leachate is tankered to treatment works where it mixes with sewage and industrial effluent
www.theguardian.com
1 24 54
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
An Environment Agency insider blew the whistle alleging a cover-up. Officials burying reports, letting water companies write their own rules, and downplaying risks. 5/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Environment Agency insider alleges ‘cover-up’ over sewage sludge on farmland
Regulator and government accused of colluding with water industry to dump potentially toxic waste without oversight
www.theguardian.com
2 21 54
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
That sludge carries PFAS, plastics, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals - stuff designed to stick around in our bodies + the environment. 4/
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘A Trojan horse’: how toxic sewage sludge became a threat to the future of British farming
Sludge used as fertiliser on farmland contains harmful chemicals that scientists suspect are entering food chain
www.theguardian.com
2 25 38
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
This story is the latest in a summer of revelations about Britain’s hidden waste system:

Millions of tonnes of sewage sludge spread on farmland yearly, under 1989 rules that barely test for anything dangerous. 3/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge spread on UK farmland every year
Exclusive: Experts call for stricter regulation as current rules set in 1989 require testing for only a few heavy metals
www.theguardian.com
3 19 46
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
hat leachate can contain PFAS forever chemicals, flame retardants, solvents, dioxins, microplastics. Sewage works can’t filter them out. They end up in rivers, soils, crops. 2/
1 14 24
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d
EXCLUSIVE: England’s farms are being fertilised with a cocktail of toxic landfill juice + sewage sludge.

750,000 tonnes of landfill leachate tankered to sewage works every year → mixed into sewage → spread on farmers' fields. 1/

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Thousands of tonnes of toxic landfill liquid added to sewage and spread on English farms
Exclusive: Leachate is tankered to treatment works where it mixes with sewage and industrial effluent
www.theguardian.com
14 120 170
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · Aug 19
Pleased to see moves to ban/restrict PFAS in firefighting foams (consultation below) but it is astonishingly late in the day.

Also very pleased to see forever chemicals in the dictionary! Can drop those pesky single quote marks

consultations.hse.gov.uk/crd-reach/pf...
PFAS in firefighting foam (FFF) restriction proposal - Health and Safety Executive - Citizen Space
Find and participate in consultations run by the Health and Safety Executive
consultations.hse.gov.uk
1 7 37
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · Aug 18
Feargal Sharkey accuses Environment Agency of illegally draining River Lea
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Feargal Sharkey accuses Environment Agency of illegally draining River Lea
Fishing club chaired by singer threatens court action over abstraction it says is putting rare trout population at risk
www.theguardian.com
1 33 78
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
leanahosea.bsky.social
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · Jul 29
Paths of poison across our oceans:

of 90411 oil spills from ships, only 474 were reported in a 5 year period - satellite analysis exposes high density "slick belts" coinciding with shipping lanes.

Our latest article with @pulitzercenter.bsky.social journalist Saroj Pathirana out now:
Image of oil slick at sea. Guardian article by Watershed Investigations. Title: Only 0.5% of 90,000 oil slicks reported over five-year period, analysis finds. Subheading: Pollution incidents reported between 2014 and 2019 were compared against scientific study that used satellite imagery to count slicks. By Leana Hosea and Saroj Pathirana.
3 82 130
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
leanahosea.bsky.social
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · Jul 26
Our report on the catastrophic burning of the X-Press Pearl is on BBC News 24 today - working with @pulitzercenter.bsky.social journalist Saroj Pathirana, we've exposed the devastating impact from the wreck of the cargo ship - laden with chemicals, acid, heavy metals + epoxy resin.
2 27 45
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
leanahosea.bsky.social
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · Jul 28
Lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka in 2021 uncovered by BBC & @watershed-i.bsky.social. Plastic pellets spilled in 2021 are now absorbing arsenic, lead, and cadmium—posing long-term risks to marine ecosystems & human health. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC uncovers lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka
Scientists warn the damage to the environment after the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster could be much more enduring.
www.bbc.co.uk
16 26
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
leanahosea.bsky.social
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · Jul 29
Uncovering the lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka, @WATERSHED_i new investigation for BBC. Has enough compensation been paid? #oceancleanup #plasticpollution #MarineLife www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
10 13
Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
watershed-i.bsky.social
WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · Jul 29
Oil, acid, epoxy resin, heavy metals, plastics spewed from the burning wreck into the ocean, searing through local wildlife populations. Fish is a staple food + livelihood in this part of Sri Lanka: overnight, many families lost their livelihood + main source of food:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC uncovers lasting toxic legacy of cargo ship disaster off Sri Lanka
Scientists warn the damage to the environment after the 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster could be much more enduring.
www.bbc.co.uk
1 55 83
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · Jul 23
Important story from @dpcarrington.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet
www.theguardian.com
2 27 60
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · Jul 21
📢 BREAKING: Government confirms Ofwat is to be abolished. New regulator to be established to take responsibility of water functions across Ofwat, Environment Agency, Natural England and Drinking Water Inspectorate
rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · Jul 21
What's all the fuss about the new water report? It recommends:

A single water regulator for England & Wale, scrapping Ofwat, aspects of the Environment Agency, Drinking Water Inspectorate & others. Water too complex for fragmented oversight.
1 14 28