State of Our Rivers
The race to climate resilience will be won or lost on rivers – and right now we’re losing.
England’s rivers, including 85% of the world’s precious chalk streams, are widely agreed to be a national treasure, yet only 14% are in good ecological health, and every single one fails to meet chemical standards.
Of these failing rivers, agriculture impacts nearly two thirds (2,296 river water bodies); the water sector impacts over a half (2,032 river water bodies); and the urban and transport sector a quarter. Pollution is not the only problem, though, as abstraction and habitat destruction also put the future of rivers in jeopardy.
We've created a comprehensive report to show you the various factors threatening our precious freshwater habitats.
The State of Our Rivers report brings together the data and tools that you need to learn about the true health of your local river, both on a national and local scale.
Read the Report
Delve into the State of Our Rivers report and learn what impacts your local river, the various sources of pollution and what can be done about it.
To launch the report, we were delighted to have been joined online by various significant voices from across politics, NGOs, and river users to explore its key messages:
Mark Lloyd - CEO of the Rivers Trust
Rebecca Pow MP - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Philip Dunne MP - Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee
Olivia Blake MP - Shadow Minister for Nature
Keri-anne Payne - Two-time 10-kilometre open water world swimming champion and Olympic silver medallist
Joe Crowley - BBC TV Presenter and environmental advocate
Charles Watson - Chairman and Founder, River Action UK
John Leyland - Director for Water Resources, Environment Agency
Chair: Christine Colvin - Director for Partnerships and Communications, The Rivers Trust
Watch the recording of the live stream below:
Header image credit: Zena Holloway