The Supreme Court has pulled up, once again, the Rajasthan government over industrial effluents flowing into the Jojari river and the deadly risk it poses for the people depending on it. The problem is decades old — public interest litigation in the Rajasthan High Court alerted State machinery to the problem in 2011 — indicating an oversight by the State bordering on the systematic. The Jojari, the Luni, and the Bandi are seasonal rivers in the State’s arid western region, flowing through Jodhpur, Balotra, and Pali districts. This region has also evolved as a textile-dyeing and steelworking hub, and untreated or insufficiently treated effluents from these factories have run directly into the rivers and soil, endangering the health of around 20 lakh local residents. The region also suffers rampant illegal sand mining in riverbeds. The sewage treatment plants have been able to accommodate only around half of the sewage generated in the three urban centres, according to the State’s submissions to the Court in 2025, even as the Court recorded substantial underutilisation at common effluent treatment plants. The combination is suggestive of industrial sources bypassing treatment facilities, poor connections between the sources and the facilities, and/or insufficient capacity at particular...

I will calmly read all the threatening letters and await the court case against me. But I will take a stand even if our government won’t, says Jenny Jones, a Green party peer

I’m seeking a judicial review over ministers’ failure to release information on the climate crisis and river pollution

Watching Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy, I was shocked to see the damage the chicken industry is doing to rivers, communities and animals. And now I’ve learned the Government wants to expand Big ...

You probably don't think about PFAS when you pull on a waterproof jacket, open a takeaway box or cook with a non-stick pan.

Activists urged waste treatment, river demarcation and stronger monitoring after polluted water was linked to damaged wetlands, falling fish stocks, farmland risks and local health concerns. Residents, fishers and environmental activists in Bangladesh’s northwestern Rajshahi region formed a human chain on Tuesday demanding action to stop encroachment and pollution in the Noboganga, Barahi, Swaromongola and Barnai rivers, warning that toxic waste is threatening public health, agriculture, food security and environmental justice. The protest was held at 11:00am on September 8, 2026, on the bank of the Barnai River near Nowhata Bridge in Rajshahi. People living along the Noboganga, Barahi and Barnai rivers, fishers, fishing community members, river researchers, social activists and leaders of environmental organisations joined the event. The programme was organised jointly by Barendra Youth Forum, a broad alliance of youth, environmental, voluntary, social and cultural organisations in the Barind region, Green Coalition, Nowhata Fishermen’s Cooperative Society and Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge, a development research organisation known as BARCIK. Speakers said large quantities of toxic liquid and solid waste, including medical waste, were flowing every day through drains and canals from Rajshahi city into the Swaromongola, Barahi and Noboganga rivers before reaching the Barnai River. They said...

Concerns have been raised after a river popular with walkers was polluted, causing fish to die. The Environment Agency said it was investigating an incident on the River Stort in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, after pollution was seen being discharged from a pipe into the water on Friday. Thames Water, which manages wastewater in the area, said the issue had since been fixed and teams had worked to increase oxygen levels in the water. David Strudwick has lived on a houseboat on this stretch of the river for three years and said the water had "looked like old washing-up water" that smelled like "horrible stagnant old water". "It's disgusting," Strudwick said. "We live here, when we open out hatches on our boat we are less than a metre from it. "We had to keep them shut all evening because it did smell quite bad." Strudwick added: "I wouldn't ever swim in this river, ever. He said it was "unusual" to see the pollution coming from the pipe and he had been in regular communication with the Environment Agency on the issue. Jeremy White, 51, also from the town, did not know about the leak initially and was worried as he had...

BANGKOK, Thailand | 12 August 2026 (IDN) — Witnessed by the visiting Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the two ASEAN members signed a Terms of Reference (TOR) on 7th August for the establishment of a joint working group on water quality management for transboundary rivers, such as the Sai and Kok rivers, which have been contaminated from unregulated rare earth mining activities in Myanmar’s Shan state, in areas that is controlled by several armed minority groups, such as United Wa State Army (UWSA). The TOR was signed by Dr. Raweewan Bhuridej, Permanent Secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and her counterpart, Hla Maung Thein, Permanent Secretary of Myanmar’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. Bhuridej told Thai PBS that while the agreement marks an important step forward in cooperation between the two countries in addressing the unresolved pollution problem that has been dragging on for 2 years, yet, she admitted, that there are obstacles to implementing the agreement because the Myanmar government is not in full control of the Shan State. The TOR which will be valid for 3 years, includes joint water quality monitoring, data sharing and technical cooperation...

'Worrying' water quality results have been revealed at a popular river in Fordingbridge, as figures are double the safety limit.

Picture of the Day: Toxic water in Delhi. Photo of black, poisonous water flowing in a Delhi river. If you face similar problems of broken roads, stray cattle, pollution, garbage, or other civic issue...

Shocking real-life drama about the muck in our water and a corporate scandal

Everything you need to know about Channel 4’s new factual drama Dirty Business including plot, cast and where to watch. Read more on tvchoicemagazine.co.uk