RIVERS and lakes throughout the Tyne Valley are in poor health, according to official data which has prompted calls for urgent action.

In fact, all waterways in England are in the same boat.

Environment Agency figures show that every monitored surface water body in England failed new stricter standards for chemical pollution, meaning none were given an overall clean bill of health.

When figures were last published in 2016, 16 per cent of waters were classed as in good health, but conservationists said the new data reveals the true poor state of rivers, lakes and streams.

Of the 374 water bodies in the Northumbria area, 11 were rated bad, 62 rated poor, 202 moderate, 97 good and two high.

All 374 failed the chemical status test.

The Northumbria water bodies include the River North and South Tyne, River Pont, River Rede as well as Kielder Water.

Indicators that make up the overall measure of good health show little or no improvement, conservationists warn, with only 16 per cent of waters classed as in good ecological status in 2019 - the same as in 2016.

Nationally, just one in seven rivers (14 per cent) were classed as in good ecological condition, with healthy populations of fish, insects and aquatic plants that would naturally be found there, a figure that is also unchanged from 2016.

Conservationists said England was on track to miss targets in the EU Water Framework Directive that all water bodies should be in good or better condition by 2027.

Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link coalition of conservation groups, warned of the dangers pollution has on the environment.

“Chemicals, sewage, manure and plastic are polluting our rivers, invasive weeds are choking them, and climate change and over-abstraction are drying them out,” he explained.

“Urgent investment is needed now to turn our suffering waters into thriving blue corridors for wildlife.

“It means investment, industry change, and improved standards are essential, with the legal underpinning in the Environment Bill to make our waters well again.”

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said swift action must be taken to improve waterways. She said: “We need to go further and faster on reducing the environmental impact from storm overflows and other sources of pollution including chemicals and agriculture.

“More needs to be done urgently, and I met with water companies earlier this month to set out the high expectations this government has for our water environment, including in particular chalk streams. These results show we have a long way to go, with a new way of testing for chemicals more accurately reflecting what is in our water environment.

“While it’s not comfortable reading, this will allow us to plan more effectively to tackle the scourge of pollution.”

Environment Agency chairwoman Emma Howard Boyd said there had been improvements over the last 25 years but water quality had plateaued since 2016.

She explained: “The 25 Year Environment Plan aims for at least three-quarters of our waters to be close to their natural state, but just 14 per cent of our rivers are.

“To get where we want to be everyone needs to improve how they use water now and that means water companies, farmers and the public.”