A Historical Review Of The Pollution Control Of Mersey River In Britain

Located in northwest England,Mersey River was a clear and pollution-free river before the industrial revolution.However,in the rapid industrialization and irregular urbanization development process,the river has become one of most polluted rivers in Britain.This paper first analyzes that the rapid development of industry leads to the emissions of a lot of waste,the promotion of agricultural output leads to the growth of water consumption,and the influx of immigrants produces a lot of garbage,all of which are important reasons for the serious pollution of Mersey River.In the face of the serious pollution of Mersey River,the British government set up a river management committee for preliminary treatment,but the treatment did not achieve the desired results for various reasons.The worldwide environmental protection movement emerged in the 1960 s,and the more stringent Water Environment Framework built after the United Kingdom joined the European Union,both of which required that British government should make timely and effective changes to deal with the widespread river pollution problems.In 1973,the British government promulgated the Water Law,which formed a set of effective mode,that is controlling the water pollution on the rule of law.After the management of Mrs.Thatcher,the British government set up the Northwest Water Authority and changed the original way which regarded the local government as the subject of managing rivers,and it gradually formed a concept on the core of region.With the unique management model and technology application,the Mersey Basin Campaign has been formally implemented after meeting these requirements,the long-standing pollution problem was solved completely after 25 years' efforts.The Mersey River restored to the high quality water which can meet the survival requirements of various fish and aquatic plants and animals.Finally,this paper makes a comprehensive analysis of more than 200 years' pollution control history from the beginning of the industrial revolution to the present,which shows the reason and enlightenment of the success ofmodern river management.