The way rivers function is significantly affected by how much sediment they transport and deposit. River sediment — mostly sand, silt and clay — plays a critical ecological role, as it provides habitat for organisms downstream and in estuaries. It is also important for human life, resupplying nutrients to agricultural soils in floodplains and buffering […]
Testing of rivers in England has fallen dramatically in the past 10 years, with experts warning it leaves a vacuum of knowledge about the effects of pollution. Environment Agency data shows its river testing has fallen from nearly 100,000 samples a year in 2012 to 41,519 in 2021 – the lowest level of sampling in 20 years […]
Chantelle Grundy, Access and Environment Lead at British Canoeing, shares how we can take action to level up access to our blue spaces. A blog from the Wildlife and Countryside Link website. There is a very good reason why we humans are drawn to lakes, rivers, oceans and pools. Water is intrinsic to our very […]
Campaigners for improved water quality in a Suffolk river are planning to submit an application to make it the third in England with bathing water status. Why are they doing it and what would it mean to those who go into the water there? The ‘Save the Deben’ environmental campaign group is behind the bid […]
Defra have announced the projects that will receive funding from the Landscape Recovery Scheme. The initiative is being hailed by land managers and conservationists as the most “exciting and important” step in a generation to restore lost biodiversity. Projects include recreating water meadows in the Cotswolds, reviving eel-rich waterways in the Severn Valley, and restoring […]
Rights for rivers? Great article in The Ecologist magazine Should rivers be given legal rights like humans? A Bristol campaigner is testing the waters of British law in an effort to protect the Avon from further pollution. Hail Mary! Statue’s trip down the Wye raises chicken pollution issue Artist Philip Chatfield hopes river journey will […]
Water UK blog Water and sewerage are uniquely sensitive to the impacts of a changing climate. The water industry has been working hard on its response: from mitigating industry’s own carbon emissions, to managing the multi-decadal impact of increased rainfall, to preparing for increased algal blooms in water sources. More than any other impact, though, we worry about […]
Wild Atlantic salmon stocks are reaching crisis point the Environment Agency (EA) has said) as the latest stock assessment report estimates they are at their lowest levels on record. UK rivers are traditional breeding grounds for Atlantic salmon and are classed as an iconic species in our rivers, however, many factors are impacting on their […]