The Environment Agency assessment reveals that just five rivers remain ‘High’ status waterways – all in remote areas of Northumberland and Wales.
The report lists 26 per cent of rivers as ‘Good’ status, the required European standard. This means 74% of rivers are failing – including 117 rivers (2%) which are classified as ‘Bad’ making them among the worst in Europe. Amongst these are the Stour estuary and a stretch of the river Trent.
The Our Rivers campaign – backed by a coalition of the RSPB, WWF UK, the Association of Rivers Trusts and the Angling Trust – has reacted to the report by calling for tougher action to protect waterways and ensure they remain clean and healthy for the benefit of wildlife.
“There is no doubt that the millions of pounds invested by the water industry over the past two decades has brought real improvements to our rivers and coasts,” said RSPB director of conservation Mark Avery.
“But these alarming figures really show just how far we have to go to tackle the problems faced by our rivers. There are just five rivers in pristine condition left and they are all in some of the least densely populated corners of the country.
“Elsewhere we are having a devastating impact on our waterways. Pollution from agriculture, over abstraction and poor town planning are all factors threatening what is an extremely important habitat for wildlife. Otters, water voles, kingfishers and more than 30 species of fish all rely on our rivers and we have a responsibility to keep them healthy and clean.
“This report should serve as a wake up call for the Government to do more to protect rivers. We will be examining the Environment Agency’s proposals for action being released today and challenging Government to ensure the final plans have a far reaching effect on the problems affecting our rivers, lakes and coasts.”
Tom Le Quesne, WWF freshwater policy advisor, said: “Unless we take action now to stop the decline in the health of our rivers then we are storing up a raft of problems for the future. We are heavily reliant on this precious resource and our legislation and actions must deliver a positive improvement to its state.”
The release of these figures coincides with the Environment Agency setting out its plan for how it will care for rivers in England and Wales over the next decade – and achieve the new European Water Framework Directive which requires the UK to bring all of its rivers up to ‘Good’ status or above by 2015.
While the plans list hundreds of actions, many of which reflect long-standing commitments to improve the environment, disappointingly only 5% more rivers will be at ‘Good’ status by 2015. Environment minister Hilary Benn now has three months to decide whether this is really ambitious enough.
The report on the environmental status of rivers is the result of a huge amount of work by Environment Agency staff. It is the first time factors such as fish and plant life have been taken into account giving the fullest ever indication of the ecological state of UK waterways.
The Our Rivers campaign is the largest river action campaign ever seen in the UK and was launched in April this year. Its website at www.ourrivers.org.uk features and interactive map of the UK’s rivers and the environmental problems they face.
FishingMagic Notes
1. The five ‘High’ status rivers in the Environment Agency report are Ridlees Burn (from source to Coquet), Barrow Burn Catchment (trib of Coquet), River Till (from Source to Linhope Burn) and Linhope Burn (from Source to Till), all in Northumberland and the Caletwr in Conwy, Wales.
2. Table of Environment Agency river status classifications for England and Wales
High 5 < 0 %
Good 1,597 26 %
Moderate 3,654 60 %
Poor 742 12 %
Bad 117 2 %
Total 6,114
3. The Government is set to publish River Basin Management Plans for the 11 river basin districts of England and Wales as part of the European Water Framework Directive at the end of the year. These plans will set out how the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) deals with pollution, abstraction and other issues affecting rivers and wetlands.
4. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires us to meet ‘good status’ in all water bodies by 2015 (with extensions permitted to 2021 or 2027 under some circumstances).
5. Examples of work being carried out on ‘Bad’ status rivers.
A) The Upper Great Stour is situated upstream of Ashford to the North West and, although the channel has been engineered for flood protection purposes, the majority of the 27km length is un-modified.
Currently, the water body is ‘Bad’ status due to the high concentration of algae, known as phytobenthos, which live in sediment at the base of the river. This algae indicates high levels of phosphorus.
The Environment Agency is predicting an improvement to ‘Moderate’ status by 2015 as a result of phosphorus removal at Lenham and Charing Sewage Treatment Works as well as the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme. Habitat improvement plans to increase fish numbers are also planned for this river.
B) The River Nar SSSI in Norfolk is one of England’s premier chalk rivers. A partnership involving the Environment Agency, the Water Management Alliance, Natural England, Norfolk County Council and Anglian Water is working towards Defra bringing the River Nar SSSI into favourable condition by 2010.
Work is also ongoing to improve water quality by the Environment Agency, Norfolk County Council and Anglian Water. Phosphate stripping at Litcham has resulted in profound benefits in terms of water quality, and further investigations are proposed to ensure long term improvements.
