Water is Life
Like many other places in the world, UK rivers have been exploited, are neglected, dirty and polluted. Despite water being essential to life, profits have been more important – but the tide is changing.
There is continuing mounting pressure here to clean up our rivers. As with all areas relating to the environment and climate change, it blows my mind that we are having to fight so hard to get healthy habitats that are so vital to our wellbeing.
For climate change, “water is becoming the most immediate battleground,” says Liz from DisCom. I completely agree.
Shockingly in 2020, no river in England or Wales was classed as being in overall good health according to the South East River Trust. In 2024, a Government report stated “only 14% of rivers in England have good ecological status and none have a good chemical status”.
My local Friends of the Earth group who are also supporting us and do fantastic and tireless work, met up with Fergal Sharkey last year (80’s legend from punk band “The Undertones” I can’t believe how lucky I was to meet him!). He tirelessly campaigns to hold our Government and water companies to account. From him we learned untreated sewage discharges into our rivers include wet-wipes, dirty nappies, and sanitary towels cut up so small it’s hard to see them an act Fergal thinks is deliberate.
The problems allowed to build up are so huge it’s shocking, and why I imagine, most of us pretend it isn’t happening. They include vehicle run off coming from roads and bridges, from agriculture, pollution from industry. Studies have found significant evidence of drugs in the waters such as ketamine, birth control, and pet medications.
Highly toxic pet flea and tick medication has been found in water pipes and traced back to pet owners washing bedding and their hands after petting their dogs up to a month after application. This medication has been found birds nests where they have used fur to insulate their nests. It’s completely unnecessary and unethical to treat pets constantly unless a pet has particular illnesses, allergies etc, but big business wants us to buy and apply it all year round (for more details see Flea treatments )
Water companies tell us 80% of our drinking water comes from the rivers and they filter out contaminants to well below harmful levels. The aren’t doing enough. And Wildlife doesn’t have this luxury.
I’ve frequently heard people say “it’s nice weather for ducks” on rainy days. I thought about this a while ago when I walked my dog along our local river, rain pelted down with an intensity we haven’t experienced until the last few years. Wind pounded us, and the rain whipped my skin furiously. The river at this point was quite narrow but was swelling and flowing extremely quickly.
I noticed 2 ducks trying to keep to the banks paddling desperately trying to avoid being beaten by the sharp pellets of rain. They were struggling, getting pushed and pulled further into the flow, bashed against debris and branches. There was nothing I could do for them and it really bothered me. I also get anxious for them and other wildlife when faced with our increasing lack of rain and drought. I worry about their futures.
I constantly feel a mixture of despondency, despair, and pure anger which gets worse the more I experience and learn.
But there are times when I feel excited and hopeful too.
Last year I went to London for a march to protest about the dire state of our rivers, feeling pure joy to be amongst over 100,000 people from all backgrounds and ages walking in solidarity. There were kayakers, surfers, wild water swimmers, and many others who’ve simply had enough.
Turds featured heavily!
But with so many problems where do we start? Citizen science is the way forward. I’m now involved with B-VAR (Blackwater Valley Action for our Waters). We’re in the early stages and there’s much to organise and learn. First on the list is to have our name pronounced as B-VAR (like Beaver – almost) to catch on! B-VAR is made up from members of Blackwater Valley Friends of the Earth, a local Climate Change Café, and local residents who want to do something about the poor state they are in, including getting rights for the rivers.
The next challenge is to find out what is the actual state of our local waters. Hopefully, with the right guidance, we can take steps to improve the water quality, and the habitat for wildlife that depend on it. The Environment Agency, wildlife rangers, and local councils should be doing this but there is not enough funding (this leaves me with a sinking feeling mixed with anger).
Along the Blackwater and Hart River, we’ve been testing for a couple of months, and it’s been a steep learning curve. We all have busy lives and for most we have little time or knowledge. It’s been reassuring to find out that there are several organisations out there already taking action, providing support, information, and funding. It would be almost impossible without them.
The Water Rangers are a fantastic organisation which started in Canada and provide information, water test kits, and a platform to share data, empowering everyone to engage, learn and take action to improve waters ( Water Rangers )
We took part in the Great UK WaterBlitz where thousands of people across the nation do phosphate and Nitrate testing over one weekend. It’s easy, runs twice a year and anyone can take part (for more details see FreshWater Watch) It wasn’t shocking to find out our rivers are polluted, but it also showed areas which seem to be in good ecological health. And that’s good to know.
Freshwater Watch (part of Earthwatch) is kindly funding BVAR to do monthly nitrate and phosphate testing which will enable us to get a good understanding about the water quality that we have.
A healthy river should have phosphate and nitrate but in low amounts. If we find readings that are high, it indicates the river is not in a healthy ecological state and will likely not be providing the habitat needed for diverse plants and wildlife. We are also going to do River fly testing at some sites too, supported by the South East Rivers Trust (for more information on Riverflies testing see Riverflies.org ).
There are eight main groups of Riverfly, and if one or more of a group of Riverfly is missing, it can indicate why the River is unhealthy. It means getting into the river in wellies and waders and sifting for invertebrates for some of our intrepid volunteers.
A month in and we’ve only found one of this group- shrimp (gamma). It’s evidence that our rivers are polluted and not in good health. We’ve found water hog louse, and worms, these creatures can tolerate an amount of pollution where other Riverflies cannot.
At some sites we are also doing other types of testing (supported by the South East Rivers Trust) like for ammonia (could show high levels of raw sewage), pH (can be a sign of chemicals or heavy metals), and conductivity (another test for pollution). We also have plans to test for E. coli too, but this is more expensive.
There are many other groups springing up, along with already established ones doing brilliant and inspiring work such as The River Wey Trust, Windrush against River Pollution, Surfers Against Sewage and more.
And there are other challenges. Experts that are needed for vital knowledge are often busy and don’t respond for months if at all, water companies appear to share information unless it may make them look bad, ego’s can get in the way too. But, when it comes down to it all groups have the same aim – to improve our rivers. Starting this project has meant I’ve met many people who feel as passionately as I do, which replenishes my energy stores.
It’s been exhausting at times. Right when I needed it I came across a truly wonderful programme (BBC “Our Changing Planet “) about 2 huge river restoration projects. One in the USA where they removed 4 dams from the Klamath river driven by local tribes, and another project in Paris to clean up the River Seine. It’s truly inspirational and gives me so much hope for what can be achieved when there is the will and people work together. See : BBC – Restoring our rivers
Information on inspiring organisations:
The River Wey trust – www.riverweytrust.org.uk
GARN – https://www.garn.org/universal-declaration-of-river-rights/
River Windrush Action Group – https://www.windrushwasp.org/
Lake Windemere – https://www.savewindermere.com/
Water Rangers & Guildford Zero Carbon – https://www.zerocarbonguildford.org/river-quality-testing
And a brilliant book by Robert Macfarlane – Is a River Alive?
Other articles by Sharon Michelle:
