The Rivers Trust have released The State of Our Rivers report and the data is shocking. The report details some jaw-dropping statistics, an interactive map so you can see how each stretch of the UKs rivers are rated, the causes of such significant pollution, and some suggestions for what we as individuals can do to campaign.
A detailed version of the entire report can be found here: State of our Rivers Report 2024 | The Rivers Trust.
Our summary of the report is below:
River health is measured by both chemical health, the presence or absence of chemical pollutants, and ecological health, what’s living in the river and how modified it is.
Of England’s river stretches:
- 0% are in good overall status
- 0% are in high overall status
- 23% are classed as in poor or bad overall status
- 85% of river stretches fall below good ecological standards; only 15% achieve good or above ecological health status
Along the Nene and its connecting brooks and dykes, all stretches were classified as either moderate, poor or bad ecological health.
The biggest contributing sector to poor river health is agricultural and rural land management, followed by the water industry and urban and transport. The biggest activities contributing to poor river health are poor nutrient management, poor livestock management and continuous sewage discharge.
Even groundwater health is poor. In England,63% of groundwater sites sampled were in poor overall health, and 55% were found to be in poor chemical health.
How can healthy rivers help us?
- Spending time near healthy rivers promotes positive mental wellbeing
- Rivers provide our drinking water by feeding reservoirs and supplying industry and agriculture
- They can boost resilience of the impacts of climate change
- They are essential for biodiversity of wildlife
- They inspire us – for centuries the river has been a muse for artists
- They give us a space to relax, exercise and unwind
What are the biggest threats posed to rivers?
- Habitat decline – physically altering rivers makes them less natural
- Water quantity – we are abstracting too much water from our rivers
- Water quality – pollutants of varying kinds can be found in every section of the river (The report shows the map of sewage discharges and it is gruesome)
What is making the pressures on rivers worse?
- Poor regulation and enforcement
- Land management being managed without water in mind
- Reduced water quality monitoring leaving knowledge gaps
- Climate change will make existing problems worse (flooding and drought)
However, it is not all doom and gloom. There are solutions to many of the issues faced by rivers right now. Many of those solutions are nature based (NBS) and include Natural Flood Management Schemes (NFM) to store water and slow the flow of rivers, and therefore reduce instances of flooding. These include creating river buffers and planting riparian woodlands, ie ensuring the rivers have a buffer zone of trees, woodland and vegetation, to protect the river and hold water.
It is important that we work together to build a resilient future. The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) involves a collaborative approach to land and water management and can be extremely powerful in implementing these strategies.
How can you help?
Anyone can help by getting involved in Citizen Science such as the Big River Watch initiatives to help collect data about river health. This can then be used to apply for funding streams and set up schemes to improve river health.
Domestically you can reduce your water consumption by consciously using less water and using water butts in the garden to store water. Increasing the permeability of your garden, however big or small, by increasing native vegetation can reduce the pressure on drains and subsequently rivers. You can find more about this on our socials.
Be mindful of what goes down our drains and toilets. No wet wipes should be put down toilets, only the 3 P’s (poo, pee and paper). In the kitchen, fat and grease should go in the bin and not the sink, check labels on cleaning products to ensure their ingredients are not deemed ‘hazardous to aquatic life’. Finally, buy food that’s local, seasonal and reduce meat content to reduce water footprint.
Write to your local political representative. The Rivers Trust has a handy tool to make this really simple. Enter your details on this link: https://theriverstrust.org/email-your-representative?fbclid=IwAR0QI7xcnHDYTVmsRDiLtgajvg2Fg6vXoUHgDrdPR7IOZR8QdGsh-0iF-5Q and they will tell you who your representative is and send you a draft email for you to send to your representative.
Go and check out the full-length reports for more in-depth information and for some really great maps that show water quality, sewerage discharges and more!
