Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has launched a new campaign to rescue the counties’ rarest and most precious waterways. The charity has joined forces with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to Save Our Chalk Streams.

Chalk streams are among the world’s rarest habitats, with only around 250 in the world and 80% of those in southern England. When healthy they are home to salmon, otters, water voles and kingfishers. Despite that, they are under growing threat from having water abstracted from them and raw sewage pumped in.

The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the Government to create new legislation to give bespoke protections for all chalk streams, hold water companies to account and make polluters pay.

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive of BBOWT, said:
“Our rarest and richest chalk streams should be gin-clear and sparkling with vitality. Instead, they’re becoming clogged and choked by toxic chemicals, fertilisers and sewage. Drought and over-consumption are also draining the life out of the rivers, with devastating consequences for the wildlife and people that rely on them.

“The Government says our rivers won’t be healthy until 2063 but we can't wait 40 years. The Save Our Chalk Streams campaign aims to bring powerful new protections and immediate action so that our chalk streams can be restored to their former glory. Healthy rivers are vital for our water supply, food security and our ability to withstand a changing climate. We can't allow the abuse of these vital life support systems to continue.”

Chalk streams are a unique type of lowland river characterised by clear water and diverse plants.

The reason they are different from other streams is that they emerge from the chalk aquifer, so their very pure water is rich in minerals and remains at a fairly constant temperature year-round. Many ecologists see them as southern England’s equivalent to the Great Barrier Reef or the Amazon Rainforest: a truly special habitat that we need to protect for generations to come.

In Oxfordshire, the Letcombe Brook and Chalgrove Brook are both chalk streams. Berkshire is home to the Pang, Kennet, Aldbourne, Dun and Lambourne while Buckinghamshire boasts the Chess and Misbourne.

However, pollution, drought and over-abstraction are pushing many of these waterways to the brink. Increasing development and a growing population leads to a greater demand for water, and water companies drain chalk streams to meet demand. That means chalk streams are facing the double threat of over-abstraction and more extreme heatwaves. This leads to longer periods of drought so their water is not replenished.

Out of the 220 British chalk streams, only 11 currently benefit from any legal protections as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which mean that they receive an extra level of protection.

The Wildlife Trusts are calling for new legal protections that will:

•            Drive investment in sewage-treatment works on chalk catchments
•            Prevent over-abstraction of chalk streams, especially during drought
•            Give them protection in the planning process to provide buffers from encroaching development and ensuring water infrastructure is in place before development starts
•            Direct investment into restoration of chalk streams, for example through the Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Environmental Land Management farming schemes and Biodiversity Net Gain
•            Increase funding for monitoring and enforcement by government agencies on our chalk streams

Wiltshire, Surrey, Yorkshire, Hertfordshire & Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire Wildlife Trusts have also joined the new campaign.

Launching their campaign ahead of World Rivers Day on Sunday, 24 September, the charities are starting by calling on MPs to join the fight.

They are also asking members of public to help, and have set up a website where people can send a message to their MP asking them to back the campaign:

wtru.st/SaveChalkstreams

These are the local Parliamentary constituencies in our three counties that have chalk streams in them:

Oxfordshire: Wantage and Henley.

Berkshire: Newbury, Wokingham, Reading West, Maidenhead and Reading East.

Buckinghamshire: Chesham and Amersham, Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Aylesbury and Buckingham.

Estelle Bailey added:
“This is also a rallying call to the public. We want to empower people to take action locally to campaign for our chalk streams. Everyone can get involved by writing to your MP asking them to become a chalk stream champion. We’re calling for our MPs to stand up for chalk streams and be part of the movement pushing for protecting these unique habitats locally and nationally."

Ask your MP to back our campaign today