‘Atypical expenditure’ document suggests utility’s costs over 12 months outstripped the £130m it paid in fines
Thames Water spent at least £136m on the effort to secure emergency funding over 12 months, according to a leaked document that suggests costs outstripped the £130m the struggling utility paid in fines.
The law firms Linklaters and Akin Gump received £45m and £26m respectively during the financial year to March 2025, and another 10 firms were paid more than £1m, according to a document listing “atypical expenditure” for the year, seen by the Guardian. It is the first time the fees paid by Thames Water have been detailed publicly.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
07/12/2025 - 05:00
07/11/2025 - 23:00
Farmers are seeking ways to fend off birds who are stirring up soil in flooded paddy fields in Ferrara province
An unusual bird is ravaging crops and infuriating farmers in north-eastern Italy: the flamingo.
Flamingos are relatively recent arrivals in the area, and have settled into the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna.
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07/11/2025 - 23:00
Levels even lower than in severe drought year of 2022, data shows, with water firms urged to ‘be proactive’
England’s reservoirs are at their lowest levels for a decade, new data reveals, as experts urge water companies to immediately put hosepipe bans in place.
In June, reservoirs across the country were 76% full, which is below their level in the severe drought year of 2022 when they were at 77% capacity at this time in the summer.
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07/11/2025 - 12:38
Campaigners condemn ‘troubling’ move that follows departure of six of largest US banks after Trump’s election
HSBC has become the first UK bank to leave the global banking industry’s net zero target-setting group, as campaigners warned it was a “troubling” sign over the lender’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis.
The move risks triggering further departures from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) by UK banks, in a fresh blow to international climate coordination efforts.
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07/11/2025 - 12:04
Visitors and staff at Arizona’s Grand Canyon and Colorado’s Black Canyon national park were evacuated
Fire activity is increasing across the American west, as critically dry landscapes and spiking temperatures fueled blazes in 11 states on Friday.
Evacuations were ordered at two national parks – Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, as hot weather, low humidity and gusty winds pushed flames closer to recreation areas.
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07/11/2025 - 07:00
Scientists say Perito Moreno, which for decades defied trend of glacial retreat, now rapidly losing mass
One of the few stable glaciers in a warming world, Perito Moreno, in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, is now undergoing a possibly irreversible retreat, scientists say.
Over the past seven years, it has lost 1.92 sq km (0.74 sq miles) of ice cover and its thickness is decreasing by up to 8 metres (26 ft) a year.
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07/11/2025 - 07:00
Guardian analysis heightens concerns on whether the air around many large factories is, or will be, safe to breathe
A Guardian analysis has raised fresh questions over the way regulators and corporations measure the air quality impact of planned factories that risk emitting dangerous levels of pollution.
Between 2014 and 2024, air pollution permit applications in Michigan – designed to gauge if proposed industrial projects would cause regions to violate federal pollution limits – did not meet data collection rules or best practices over 90% of the time. Some measurements were taken more than a hundred miles away from sites.
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07/11/2025 - 06:47
UKHSA warning came into effect at noon on Friday as temperatures predicted to reach 33C over weekend
Amber heat health alerts have been issued across parts of England and hosepipe bans imposed in various locations as the third heatwave of the summer takes hold.
The heat health warning announced by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) came into effect at noon on Friday and covers the East Midlands, West Midlands, south-east, south-west, east of England and London until 9am on Monday.
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07/11/2025 - 06:00
Pfas-laden pesticides and sewage sludge used as fertilizer move into crops and nearby water sources
The Trump administration has killed nearly $15m in research into Pfas contamination of US farmland, bringing to a close studies that public health advocates say are essential for understanding a worrying source of widespread food contamination.
Researchers in recent years have begun to understand that Pfas-laden pesticides and sewage sludge spread on cropland as a fertilizer contaminate the soil with the chemicals, which then move into crops and nearby water sources.
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07/11/2025 - 05:24
Campaigners say just 5.8% of irreplaceable habitat at publicly owned sites has been fully restored in 10 years
Forestry England needs to urgently step up its ancient woodland restoration before the irreplaceable habitat is lost for ever, campaigners have said.
Findings by the campaign group Wild Card suggest that in the 10 most recently assessed years Forestry England, which is in charge of the country’s woodlands, has fully restored just 5.8% (2,484 hectares/6,138 acres) of publicly owned plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS).
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