Photo credit: Andrew Marshall/Go Wild Landscapes
Healthy rivers
End river pollution and water scarcity
To end river pollution and unsustainable water use, we’re calling on the new government to enforce the law against polluters, half nutrient pollution by 2030 and deliver stronger protection for chalk streams.
The state of our rivers is a national disgrace. The UK is ranked as one of the worst countries in Europe for water quality, with pollution beyond legal limits caused by a toxic cocktail of sewage and agricultural pollution. Currently, 40% of waters fail quality targets due to pollution from agriculture and land management and in 2022 alone, raw sewage was discharged into waterways over 300,000 times.
Our rivers are no longer suitable homes for wildlife, they are not fit for people to swim in, and thanks to climate change and growing demand, we are seeing water availability decrease before our eyes. This is a crisis – and one which the public wants to see urgently resolved.
What are we doing?
Chalk streams are one of the world's rarest habitats with only around 250 left and 80% of those in southern England, but they are under growing threat of having water abstracted and sewage pumped in. Last year, BBOWT joined a Wildlife Trusts campaign calling on the Government to create new bespoke legal protections for these habitats.
Aquatic plants in an English chalk stream. Picture: Linda Pitkin/2020Vision
Save our chalk streams
We are campaigning for new protections for all chalk streams to make polluters pay, hold water companies to account and make sure we can rapidly repair our wonderful chalk streams.
What you can do
Click here for lots of advice about meeting your new MP including step-by-step guides, blogs, videos and information on campaigning.
If you would like more help or advice, please email publicaffairs@bbowt.org.uk
