ABSTRACT

Approached from a United Kingdom perspective, and specifically that of England, the chapter investigates the role of national law in addressing issues of water pollution and water quality. The challenge in addressing the law on water pollution is the elusiveness of the concept of pollution itself. The water quality standard is formulated at such a level as to ensure that the water is of sufficient quality to meet the use identified as its objective. The legal mechanisms to specify water quality standards and to require these to be met by particular waters were eventually provided for in national law, these mechanisms have only been used to realise water quality standards that have been formulated under European Union water quality legislation. Stage one in the progression of national water quality law is seen as the prohibitive response to industrial water pollution, which is characterised by the criminalisation of industrial activities that were regarded as excessively damaging to the environment.