Rachel Salvidge
@rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
Environmental journalist. Founder of investigative journalism non-profit https://watershedinvestigations.com/
Bylines: @guardian @thetimes @bbc @SkyNews @itv
Ex: @TheENDSReport @PenguinUKBooks @independent
Rachel.salvidge@watershedinvestigations.com
Bylines: @guardian @thetimes @bbc @SkyNews @itv
Ex: @TheENDSReport @PenguinUKBooks @independent
Rachel.salvidge@watershedinvestigations.com
In the Guardian. Cleaning PFAS from water is very expensive and spend on new tech will appear on bills so the water sector has called for chemicals companies pay for clean up and the for PFAS to be banned. 2/3
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Drinking Water Inspectorate ordered action over ‘forever chemicals’ risk
Analysis finds regulator for England and Wales raised issues with untreated water at facilities serving millions
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:20 AM
In the Guardian. Cleaning PFAS from water is very expensive and spend on new tech will appear on bills so the water sector has called for chemicals companies pay for clean up and the for PFAS to be banned. 2/3
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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/...
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
September 26, 2025 at 9:54 AM
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/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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water system is riddled with opacity: bulk users (agriculture, industry, data centres) often escape scrutiny thanks to outdated licenses and weak reporting.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/...
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How England’s outdated water tracking system leaves regulators in the dark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
September 26, 2025 at 9:54 AM
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/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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
September 26, 2025 at 9:54 AM
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
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/...
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
September 12, 2025 at 6:19 AM
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/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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
September 12, 2025 at 6:19 AM
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/...
That sludge carries PFAS, plastics, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals - stuff designed to stick around in our bodies + the environment. 4/
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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
September 12, 2025 at 6:19 AM
That sludge carries PFAS, plastics, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals - stuff designed to stick around in our bodies + the environment. 4/
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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 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
September 12, 2025 at 6:19 AM
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 sewage sludge spread on farmland yearly, under 1989 rules that barely test for anything dangerous. 3/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...