DEFRA has issued a more stringent new guidance to crack down on agricultural pollution following a groundbreaking legal victory by environmental activists.
The revised guidance follows the 2024 High Court legal challenges brought about by river litigation against environmental agencies.
The lawsuit centers on the failure to enforce agricultural regulations for water in the face of pollution on the River Wye, and determined that agricultural practices must be changed in order to comply with existing regulations.
The legal action, along with complaints from WWF and Client Airs that sparked an investigation by the office for environmental protection, urged DEFRA to clarify and strengthen how it will implement water farming regulations.
In June 2025, DEFRA published updated statutory guidance to “enforce water farming regulations” welcomed by environmental activists.
However, concerns have been raised along with two important issues: ambiguity surrounding fertilizer spreading in the fall and the lack of a clear enforcement threshold.
These concerns were amplified when some of the industry interpreted new guidance as allowing for a continuous fall spread. This made me feel that the High Court’s decision was unlikely to comply with water farming regulations, except in limited and specific circumstances. River Action argued that the guidance should have made this clear.
In response, DEFRA issued further document on July 16th entitled “How to comply with water agricultural regulations.”
This additional guidance states that fertilizers should only be applied when there is widespread need for fertilizer and soil.
A Defra spokesperson said:
“That is why we updated our guidance on the agricultural regulations for water to reduce runoff into the waterway.
“We are working closely with farmers, environmental groups and other partners to address a wide range of concerns regarding agricultural pollution.
“We’re also creating a new, powerful regulatory authority to handle the entire water sector. This is to bring together water functions from four different regulators into one.”
According to River Action, this clarification represents an important step forward, and believes that with appropriate advice and enforcement measures, the new regulations could lead to better compliance and reduced proliferation agricultural pollution.
Emma Deanary, legal director for the charity, said:
“River Action looks forward to working with DEFRA and the Environment Agency to establish a clear enforcement threshold and ensuring that both farmers and regulators are able to ensure when the action is taken.”
