The line chart illustrates the percentages of river water meeting good chemical quality standards in four countries in the UK over a period of 12 years, commencing with 1990.
Overall, rivers in Wales and Nothern Ireland consistently had the cleanest water. In addition, with the exception of Wales, all the regions showed improvements in the water quality over the period shown.
With regards to the two leading nations, in 1990, roughly 96% of rivers in Wales were classified as having good chemical quality, noticeably higher than Nothern Ireland’s 83%. In the following years, Wale’s river cleanliness remained relatively stable until 1998, before dropping sharply to around 80% by 2002. In contrast, Nothern Ireland’s river quality gradually increased, with its purify reaching nearly 100% and then slightly falling to about 96% by 2002, taking the highest position of Wales.
Regarding the remaining countries, in 1990, Scotland’s rivers were of the lowest quality in terms of chemical composition, with only 20%. Subsequently, this nation experienced a drastical increase, reaching a peak at 60% before falling to around 45%. The opposite trend was true for England’s water quality, standing at 45% in the first year, was followed by a growth to just under 70%, and then fell back to a low of 30% in 1998, ending at recovering to 50% in 2002.