Suffolk river pollution, council promised to tackle the issue

Members of the Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent group demonstrated outside Endeavour House, in Ipswich, over Suffolk's river pollution

A local authority has promised to tackle river pollution after a report found none of its rivers met government targets for good water quality.

The report by the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust said it wanted all water courses to achieve a "good" or "good potential" status by 2027.

Suffolk County Council said it would investigate what could be done.

Councillors said they would write to MPs and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The council passed a motion that stated it would also work with county farm tenants and the wider agricultural sector on ensuring good practice to try to reduce pollution, and was investigating further biodiversity efforts to address water run-off from roads, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Concerns have been expressed about the River Deben, which flows past Woodbridge, after high levels of E.coli were found in the water

Penny Otton, a Liberal Democrat councillor from the Green, Lib Dem and Independent group which put forward the motion, said it was a "national disgrace" and that "serious action" was taken by local authorities.

"In the 21st Century, we should not have rivers in Suffolk, or the rest of the country, where people feel it is not safe to go and swim, to paddleboard, to kayak or fish.

"If we don't deal with it now, we could still have polluting sewage discharges into our rivers for decades to come."

The Environment Agency, which monitors water quality, previously said: "Water quality and the ecological health of rivers must improve."

It said the main source of pollution was "agriculture and the water industry" and that "we all need to up our game and Suffolk's rivers are no different".

Richard Rout, Conservative cabinet member for the environment and finance, said that "much work still lies ahead in improving their [rivers'] health" and the council was committed "to continue to support and engage with other organisations".