Defra has issued tougher new guidance to clamp down on agricultural pollution following a landmark legal win by environmental campaigners.
The revised guidance follows a 2024 High Court legal challenge brought by River Action against the Environment Agency.
The case centred on the agency’s failure to enforce the Farming Rules for Water in the face of pollution in the River Wye, ruling that agricultural practices must change to comply with existing regulations.
This legal action, along with a complaint by WWF and ClientEarth that triggered an investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection, has prompted Defra to clarify and strengthen how the Farming Rules for Water should be enforced.
In June 2025, Defra published updated statutory guidance, ‘Enforcing the Farming Rules for Water’, which environmental activists roundly welcomed.
However, concerns were raised over two key issues: ambiguity surrounding manure spreading in the autumn, and the absence of clear enforcement thresholds.
These concerns were amplified when some in the industry interpreted the new guidance as allowing continued autumn spreading—an activity the High Court judgement found unlikely to comply with the Farming Rules for Water except in limited, specific circumstances. River Action argued that the guidance should have made this clear.
In response, Defra issued a further document on 16 July entitled ‘How to comply with the Farming Rules for Water’.
This additional guidance states that manure must only be applied when there is a clear crop or soil need at the time of spreading.
A Defra spokesperson said: “We share the public's concern about the health of our waterways and are committed to cleaning up our rivers by cutting down on agricultural pollution.
"That is why we have updated our guidance on the Farming Rules for Water to cut run-off into waterways.
"We are working closely with farmers, environmental groups and other partners to address wider concerns around agricultural pollution.
"We will also create a new, powerful regulator responsible for the entire water sector - abolishing Ofwat and bringing together the water functions from four different regulators into one.”
River Action says the clarification represents a significant step forward and believes, with proper advisory and enforcement action, the new rules could lead to better compliance and a reduction in diffuse agricultural pollution.
Emma Dearnaley, head of legal at the charity, said: “Defra's welcome clarification is another important step toward protecting the UK’s rivers from the devastating damage caused by diffuse agricultural pollution.
"River Action now looks forward to working with Defra and the Environment Agency to establish clear enforcement thresholds, ensuring both farmers and regulators have certainty about when action will be taken.”
