Today we have a guest blog from our friends at Sustain that describes their new campaign to encourage local councils to use their planning powers to support nature-friendly farming to help our rivers ...
Our waterways have been having a tough time of it lately. As the true extent of the sewage scandal makes itself known, our rivers continue to choke with pollutants from wastewater and urban run-off, whilst also experiencing ever lower flows during the current drought and unsustainable abstraction.
Rural land-use also plays its plays it part, with traditional livestock and arable farming providing a rich source of excess nutrients. But the worrying trend of larger megafarms represents a step change in the threat posed by agriculture to our waterways, with densely-packed units kicking out massive quantities of nutrient-rich manures. Luckily, we can challenge the growth of megafarms through the planning system and give out waterways a fighting chance of recovery. This blog explains how.
Let’s dive in
Industrialised livestock farming is on the rise in the UK. We now have well over 1000 US-style chicken, pig and dairy ‘megafarms’, each housing tens of thousands of animals at any time.
These units produce an overwhelming amount of waste – more than 50,000 tonnes per day (or over 100 double-decker busloads every single hour!). This contains harmful pollutants such as nitrates, phosphates, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The most common method of slurry disposal is spreading (normally untreated) on nearby fields. Unfortunately, our soils are so saturated with nitrates and phosphates that pollutants run off fields into rivers after spreading. As there is little on-site monitoring of farms, slurry also leaks directly into rivers from units or faulty slurry storage.
Actually, let’s not dive in
Nutrient pollution is a major problem. Nitrates cause algal blooms that suck up the oxygen in the water and block sunlight from reaching the riverbed, killing fish, insects and other wildlife. High levels of phosphate account for more water bodies failing to achieve good ecological status than any other water quality pressure.
Pollution is not only having a big impact on wildlife, but on rural economies. Only two inland waterways in the UK are considered safe to swim and dirty rivers are affecting local tourism and housebuilding. In fact, nitrogen pollution has become so acute in 42 areas of the UK that councils are unable to approve housing developments that may produce additional nitrogen pollution during their construction.
Sustain's Campaign for Change
At Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, we are helping councils to use their planning powers to stop the spread of factory farms in their area. Councils can adopt planning policy to ensure applications for livestock megafarms are properly scrutinised and their impacts fully disclosed. They can also support the infrastructure needed for localised food systems and sustainable farming.
We want every council to get involved. Since launching last month, four have joined up and get access to the resources they need. Do you want your council to be next? It takes just two minutes to ask. Sustain have written a draft letter here.
To find out more, please visit Sustain’s webpage here