
March for Clean Water: What The Rivers Trust wants to see from Government
This is a critical moment for our rivers. In supporting the March for Clean Water, The Rivers Trust encourages you to join us in demanding that the Government takes urgent action on river health. Read our asks, and use our tool to communicate them with your MP.
28/10/24
On the 3rd of November 2024, The Rivers Trust will join a diverse coalition of nature groups and thousands of people across the country, as we all take to the streets of London to March for Clean Water. This is a critical moment to make our voices heard about the desperate state of our rivers, which is why The Rivers Trust is encouraging supporters to join us in demanding that the Government takes urgent action on river health.
The Rivers Trust Movement is supporting the London-based March, which will rally for the restoration of rivers, lakes and seas across the UK. While this blog is mainly relevant to England, setting out our asks for the Westminster Government and Water Commission, our All-Ireland team has put together a separate briefing and MP letter template for Northern Ireland so that supporters across jurisdictions can get involved. You can find the Northern Ireland information here: Press Release: The Rivers Trust Calls for Northern… | The Rivers Trust
In Westminster, the Government is taking notice of the plight of our waterways. They made an early start with the Water (Special Measures) Bill and now have launched the Independent Water Commission, which aims to be the largest review of the water sector since privatisation. This is a once-in-a-generation chance to solve the issues affecting our rivers, so we must make our demands heard.
The Rivers Trust is clear that the Commission must be:
- Independent – chaired by an independent expert
- Rapid – reporting within a year, to inform further water legislation
- Wide in scope – looking catchment-wide at pressures from agriculture, water usage, urban and road run-off pollution, not just the water industry
And, critically,
- The Commission must not delay action on rivers.
Many of these asks have been noticed and actioned by the Government, which is welcome. The Commission will be chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe who has significant regulatory, business, and environmental experience, will make its recommendations by summer 2025 and has an objective to adopt a collaborative, strategic and catchment approach. While this is good news, The Rivers Trust is concerned to see a strong focus on the water sector emerging, even though our waterways are affected by a plethora of other catchment-wide pressures including agriculture, development, and urban pollution.
The Rivers Trust is clear that the Commission must include other sectors in its review of water management and regulation. Therefore, we will continue to drive forward our asks and hold the Government’s feet to the fire on this exceptional opportunity to transform the health of our waterways.
While the Commission has the potential to deliver change in the longer term, it is essential that progress is not kicked down the road.
The Rivers Trust urges the Government to take immediate action on solutions that have wide, cross-sectoral backing:
1. Boost water-friendly farming
- Enforce the Farming Rules for Water; direct regulators to properly enforce rules that protect our waterways from agricultural pollution and restore funding for regulators so that they can monitor, investigate, and enforce these rules.
- Increase the nature-friendly farming budget for ELMs; farmers must be paid properly for positive actions they take to improve nature and restore rivers and it is absolutely critical that existing funding is not cut.
2. Fully-fund catchment plans
- Fully fund and mandate catchment management plans capable of meeting environmental targets; Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) Catchment Partnerships have not seen a funding increase since they were established 10 years ago, meaning many are not delivering all their potential environmental, social and economic benefits.
3. Require regulators to take a nature-first approach
- Regulators such as Ofwat and the Environment Agency must be required to consider nature-based solutions alongside engineered ones as a priority so that we are able to harness opportunities to work with nature and deliver more cost-effective solutions where appropriate.
- Water company draft plans overseen by regulator Ofwat have earmarked only £2bn of nearly £35bn total enhancement spend for green solutions, relying on traditional engineered approaches that solve only one problem at a time. A nature-first requirement on Ofwat would drive greater use of more innovative, cost-effective nature-based solutions in the next business planning period.
Our rivers need bold and urgent action, which is why The Rivers Trust is calling on the Government to take these immediate actions alongside progressing with a rapid and rigorous Water Commission. The Rivers Trust will be championing these asks at the March for Clean Water in November and beyond. We are also encouraging our member Trusts and supporters to email their MPs using our “Write to your representative” tool and challenge them to back our asks in Parliament.
Now is the time to make our collective voices heard, push for evidence-based and ambitious action, and make the most of this opportunity to solve the many issues affecting our precious rivers, and the people and nature that depend on them.
Use the form below to generate an email template on this issue personalised with the contact details of your local MP.