Time to clean up the drain of Yorkshire

A huge piece of England, from Birmingham to the northmost dales and moors of Yorkshire, has this in common – it all drains into the River Humber.

And from here on, the 10.8m of us in the Humber River Basin are also united by a demanding set of targets for the quality of the water which runs out between Hull and Grimsby to the sea.

The Humber River Basin Management Plan is one of 10 dividing most of England and Wales into the catchment areas of their great rivers. It outlines the first targets – for 2015 – in a project which will run all the way to 2027. The basin plans, published quietly at the turn of the year, embody the European Water Framework Directive. This is a set of standards which will cost billions in engineering works and changes of practice in farming, in sewage treatment, drainage of built-up areas and old mines, industrial waste treatment and port and harbour practice. Four years ago, the agricultural consultancy Adas, formerly the Government's Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, warned that the demands of the directive would require change across half the farmed land in England. Since then, quite a lot of groundwork has been done in the farming industry. Nitrate Vulnerable Zones have been re-mapped and new standards imposed, including requirements for storage of large quantities of farm manure during rainy times.

Farm fields have begun to shrink back away from water courses under environmental stewardship agreements and it has been made clear that stewardship is the future of farm support. Some pesticides are being phased out by law and others are being applied more frugally through voluntary agreements and education.

Intensive pig and poultry farms are having to comply with the same effluent controls as chemical factories. Grants have been made available for improving farm drainage and containing livestock in

key areas.

The river basin plans will not mean anything new overnight, according to Graham Tate, a senior Environment Agency man in York. But they do set ambitious targets – and they do provide for the declaration of Water Protection Zones, which will allow the Government to enforce any rules it thinks necessary if progress is not satisfactory.

Who pays? We do. The water companies are getting taxpayers' money to invest in sewage works to cut down the amount of phosphates they pass into the sea from us all. And it is likely that phosphates in detergents will be banned, forcing us to buy more expensive alternatives – already available for those who care enough. Control of phosphates did look like being a big problem for the farmers, because they use them in fertilisers, but preliminary research suggests they are not easily washed out of the soil. However, general sedimentary wash-off is a concern and farmers are being asked to take basic precautions such as ploughing across slopes rather than up and down.

There are also implications for us all in the drainage requirements. New building will require "sustainable" drainage. Existing urban areas and highways will eventually be retro-fitted with the same aim. In effect, this will mean a lot more swampy land everywhere, where rainwater collects for slow dispersal, rather than rushing straight into the main drains and rivers.

Many people will welcome the changes. One target is to restore all the traditional migration routes of trout, salmon, and eels, by making their home rivers survivable from top to bottom and either demolishing obstructions like weirs and locks or building bypasses. And the humblest water weed will become a matter of official concern when water is tested.

Graham Tate of the Environment Agency says: "It's about time. We ought to care about the health of our water and not just its chemistry." And a lot of people agree. "Friends" groups have sprung up to assist the recovery of various rivers and more are invited.

Laurie Norris, the regional adviser on environmental legislation for the National Farmers Union, says: "There are some people who would obviously like to see things move faster. But so far the Environment Agency agrees with us that it makes sense to hang on and see what can be achieved with all that is already going on.

"We do want everyone to be aware of the river basin plans so that they do what they can voluntarily in order to avoid the imposition of Water Protection Zones."

Individuals are asked to: use environmentally friendly cleaning products; take waste oil and white spirit to the dump; ensure household appliances are connected to the foul sewer – not the surface drains; put cotton buds and other litter, and used cooking fats, in the bin, not down the sink or toilet; wash fruit and veg in a

bowl and use the dirty water on plants; install a flush saver in toilet cisterns; plant gardens for minimum watering.

For information about "Friends" groups, see www.ourrivers.org.uk