The Know Daily - Thursday 16 May 2024

_{Read in 5m 24s ∙ Listening to Fleetwood Mac ∙}

Researchers are cautiously optimistic that the population of Antarctic blue whales may be recovering, after spending two decades listening for their songs and calls. While centuries of industrial whaling left only a few hundred alive in the wild, audio analysis suggests that their numbers are finally stable or even on the rise 🐳 

🚰 Troubled waters

Residents in South Devon have been told to boil their drinking water, as the topic of UK water safety continues to grab headlines.

What’s the story in Devon?
Residents around the town of Brixham have been told to boil their tap water before drinking it, after “small traces” of a parasite that can cause a diarrhoea-type illness were found in the water supply on Wednesday. 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis have now been confirmed, with South West Water asking residents to collect free bottled water as it searches for the “root cause” of the outbreak.

What else is going on?
The news from Devon comes amid a wider outcry about the state of Britain’s waterways. The BBC yesterday revealed that millions of litres of raw sewage were illegally pumped into Windermere in the Lake District by United Utilities after a fault.

At the same time, campaigner Charles Watson - founder of River Action UK - told a group of MPs that action was urgently needed to improve the health of rivers, beaches and lakes as the summer bathing season opens. 

What’s the political impact of all this?
The news from Windermere and Devon “is only likely to pile more pressure on Rishi Sunak to take stronger action on the water industry”, said The i newspaper. On Wednesday evening, the Liberal Democrats attempted to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to make water bosses criminally liable for polluting waterways, but failed to secure enough backing from MPs.

Some opposition MPs have also stepped up calls for water to be brought into public ownership. Labour MP Clive Lewis took to X to say that “the privatisation of water in England has failed”, calling on the government to publish a plan for the “democratic ownership” of water.