Tens of thousands of crucial water pollution tests in England have been scrapped or delayed due to staffing shortages at the Environment Agency (EA), raising serious concerns about the country’s ability to monitor its rivers, lakes, and estuaries effectively.

Internal documents and emails obtained by campaigners and shared with the BBC reveal that between May and July, nearly 10,000 scheduled tests at the EA’s Starcross laboratory in Devon were cancelled. The tests were meant to detect inorganic pollutants like nitrates, phosphates, copper, and zinc — indicators of sewage discharge and agricultural runoff — all of which can have serious effects on aquatic ecosystems.

The EA confirmed that seven national monitoring programmes for inorganic pollution had been completely paused, including ones focused on chemical pollution and drought-related water conditions. While the agency has described the changes as part of an “optimisation process,” critics say the cuts jeopardise both environmental protection and transparency.

Former EA water quality officer Jo Bradley explained the importance of such routine tests: “Metals like copper and zinc are toxic to fish and aquatic insects, while nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen can unbalance entire ecosystems. Without frequent testing, we lose the ability to detect and respond to those threats quickly.”

Over the full year, the EA expects to operate 15% below laboratory testing capacity, blaming “fluctuations in staffing” as the main cause. The agency says it plans to return to full operations by October, but its ongoing recruitment and retention problems are well-documented. In 2023, EA chairman Alan Lovell admitted to Parliament that the agency was struggling to maintain staffing levels.

Former staff and campaigners say the testing delays reflect deeper structural issues. Helen Nightingale, who worked as a catchment planner until 2022, said the agency had shifted away from serious investigations to simply seeking “positive outcomes,” undermining its role as a regulator. “When you’re no longer making a difference, what’s the point?” she added, highlighting low morale and stagnant wages due to years of austerity.

Independent groups have stepped in to fill the gap. The Angling Trust’s citizen-led Water Quality Monitoring Network recently conducted its 10,000th test — just as the EA paused a similar number. Their findings revealed alarming pollution levels, with over one-third of sites exceeding phosphate limits and nearly half showing nitrate contamination.

Environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey sharply criticised the EA’s failures: “When is a regulator not a regulator? When it’s the Environment Agency,” he said, calling for structural reform and the agency’s removal from pollution oversight.

His criticism echoes a recent government-commissioned report by Sir Jon Cunliffe, which recommended consolidating water regulation under a single authority. The report pointed to the EA’s chronic underperformance and suggested transferring its pollution monitoring responsibilities elsewhere.

The Environment Agency maintains that its monitoring remains “robust,” and insists only a small proportion of its total tests were affected. “We are committed to protecting the environment,” an EA spokesperson said. “Our testing programme is guided by need, and the reduction has had no impact on detecting pollution incidents or monitoring bathing waters.”

Still, with rivers like the Wye facing ecological collapse due to unchecked agricultural pollution, critics argue that now is not the time to scale back oversight. Without comprehensive testing, they warn, regulators will continue flying blind — and the damage to England’s waterways will only worsen.