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it is seeking to implement a Cooling the Tube scheme. Diffuse pollution 4.34 Besides pollution that originates from one place (point source pollution), diffuse water pollution can arise from many sources. Individually the sources may be small and diverse, yet their collective impact is often damaging. Urban run-off typically contains pollutants such as organic waste, pesticides, fertilisers, hydrocarbons and nutrient sediment. It is caused when rainfall is rapidly washed from roads and other paved areas into watercourses, in the absence of the natural vegetation that would normally allow such contaminants to settle out or be absorbed. This problem is acute in the London area because of the extent of urban land use. Another source of contamination is misconnections of properties to surface water drains (see paragraph 5.17 below). 4.35 Unlike point source pollution, it is not as easy to control diffuse pollution through permits or licences. Here the regulatory approaches require a greater degree of subtlety. For instance, the better use of the town and country planning system is central to meeting the Water Framework Directive’s requirements (see below). Water Framework Directive 4.36 As noted in paragraph 1.7, the Water Framework Directive 73 is designed to protect and improve the environmental condition of all waters. It applies to surface waters (including lakes, streams and rivers), groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters (out to one nautical mile). 4.37 The directive aims to deliver ‘good ecological/chemical status’ by 2015 based on assessments of the chemical, physical and ecological health of water bodies. The Environment Agency has started to draw up River Basin Management Plans 74 (RBMPs) that assess the pressures and impacts on surface water and groundwater bodies. As part of the RBMP process, a Programme of Measures will also be devised to meet these objectives. However, there may be cases where the actions required to meet objectives are disproportionately expensive or technically infeasible and the directive allows lower objectives or longer timescales to be set. Rivers and canals 4.38 Pollution and the loss of habitat (often an important buffer to diffuse pollution) led to a deterioration in the quality of London’s rivers in the early nineteenth century. It is only in the last 40 years that there has been an improvement in the quality of the River Thames. 4.39 Despite the improvements in river quality, many Londoners still think the Thames contains little, if any, life. People typically cite its muddiness (which is actually caused by tidal action) and the floating rubbish as evidence of its apparent ‘inert’ state. Yet, more than 100 species of fish have been found in the Thames Estuary in recent years, many of them within London. The regular 67
68 The Mayor’s draft water strategy sighting of grey heron and cormorant along the Thames in central London is evidence of its thriving fish life. Within the tributaries of the Thames there is still much room for improvement, with many rivers still in flood protection concrete straitjackets and degraded habitats making water quality standards challenging to achieve, as can be seen from Figure 4.1. The Mayor supports the Environment Agency’s river restoration strategies for north and south London, which should be a catalyst for further improvement, and working with the Agency and its partners to support the London Rivers Action Plan. 4.40 The system of General Quality Assessment is being discontinued in preparation for the introduction of new procedures under the EU Water Framework Directive, and 2004- 2006 was the last period for which all the reaches of designated rivers in London were graded. The new system will cover all bodies of water and include rivers, canals, lakes, groundwater, coastal waters and estuaries. Figure 4.1 Chemical General Quality Assessment 2004-2006 for designated rivers in London
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