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Can our rivers survive?

The campaign group River Action UK are organising a March for Clean Water to be held in London on 26 October.  They are keen for support in person on the day or by helping with their Crowdfunding to raise money for transport costs to the event and social media to help to promote the March.

Many new organisations have joined them to call on the government to Stop The Poisoning of Britain’s Waters.  CPRE support their campaign.

Get in touch with them on their website  www.riveractionuk.com or through LinkedIn:   drew-richardson-empowering-communities or  email Drew@RiverActionUK.com

In Wiltshire our concern is for our chalk streams.  These include the Ebble, Nadder and Wylye rivers to the west of Salisbury and Bourne to the east.  They all meet in the River Avon which flows north to south through the cathedral city.  A similar problem exists in the chalk steams that feed the River Kennet in the east of the county.  And the Bristol Avon is also significantly polluted.

Our high consumption of water is leading to the over-abstraction of water from chalk streams and aquifers.  This is compounded by dry summers, when polluted run-off from farmland and roads soaks into the upper layers of a dry streambed, and the canalisation of rivers and streams.

The previous Government said that our rivers will not be healthy until 2063.  We cannot wait 40 years to clean them up and protect them. Urgent action must be taken now if they are to stand a chance of recovery.

The State of our Rivers report found that only 15% of waters in England are in good ecological health and none meet chemical standards. Toxic chemical cocktails were found in over 1,600 UK rivers and groundwater sites last year, with the River Thames and River Avon containing some of the highest concentrations of chemicals.

We are waiting to find out the line the new Secretary of State for the Environment, Steve Reed, will steer.  Will he choose the “war on nature” (scrapping of many environmental regulations) or promote much needed action to restore and protect our environment and our rivers.  Will DEFRA be properly resourced and able to carry out its roles?

Our ask of DEFRA:

  • Stop unsustainable water abstraction from the chalk streams and underground aquifers that feed them

  • Reduce pollution of chalk streams – from sewage, roads and agriculture
  • Restore the habitat of chalk streams and wetlands
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