The South East Rivers Trust (SERT) recently completed a chemical pollution survey across three local rivers to understand what harmful substances are polluting our waterways. The project, funded by the Environment Agency (EA) and carried out in partnership with Imperial College London, used special devices called passive chemical samplers to detect various chemicals in the water.
Where did we test?
We focused on three tributaries in our river catchments:
At each tributary, we placed the sampling devices at five different locations along its course. The devices were positioned to capture data from both urban and rural areas. These devices stayed in the water for two weeks before being retrieved and sent to a lab for analysis.
What did we find?
We tested for the presence of 35 different chemicals, including antibiotics, prescription medications, recreational drugs, pesticides, and herbicides. Shockingly, we found about 62% of the 35 chemicals we tested for in all three rivers. Some of the most concerning chemicals detected include:
Clarithromycin (an antibiotic)
Imidacloprid (a neonicotinoid pesticide)
Fipronil (used in flea and tick treatments)
Why does this matter?
The presence of these chemicals in our rivers is a serious issue. Antibiotics in the water can lead to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is a growing public health concern. Pesticides like neonicotinoids are particularly harmful to aquatic invertebrates such as dragonflies, snails and shrimps, which are crucial to the health of the entire river ecosystem.
The River Blackwater in the River Loddon Catchment.
What can be done?
To tackle this pollution, we need upgraded sewage treatment systems and improved agricultural land management practices. However, there are also nature-based solutions that can help, such as creating new wetlands. The South East Rivers Trust recently delivered a nature-based solution with the Chamber Mead wetland project. This project cleans 250 million litres of water through natural systems, effectively combating pollution. Wetlands play a crucial role in keeping our water clean by filtering out sediments, chemicals, and other pollutants. They also help remove excess nutrients that often come from farms and construction sites, locking up pollutants in their sediments, soils and vegetation.
How you can help
Protecting our rivers requires everyone’s effort. By supporting initiatives like our Chamber Mead wetlands, volunteering at local events and donating to help fund vital restoration projects, we can all contribute to cleaner, healthier rivers. Find out more about how you can help your local river: https://staging.southeastriverstrust.org/take-action/
We’re calling on you to join the #VoteforRivers campaign run by the Rivers Trust in the lead-up to the General Election on Thursday 4th July.
This is your chance to use the power we have as voters to advocate for nature restoration and to take this vital opportunity to speak up for healthy rivers.
We’ve set out asks under five headings, whether you plan to seek answers from candidates who come knocking on the door, question them at local hustings or want to write to them.
You can find the candidates running in your area using The Electoral Commissionand download the letter to write to them, or have the asks handy when meeting candidates in person.
We want you to ask the new Government to:
1. Prioritise nature recovery – make nature-based solutions like trees and wetlands to improve the environment and tackle climate change as first choice, rather than relying on chemicals and concrete.
For example, we at the South East Rivers Trust have just completed Chamber Mead wetlands in Ewell, Surrey, which diverts road runoff away from the River Hogsmill. Plants being established there will also bring huge biodiversity benefits to the Hogsmill Local Nature Reserve.
We are working on restoring water voles, eels and trout via our WET Hogsmill project, we have restored a section of the River Blackwater in Hampshire and the Wandle in Morden Hall Park with woody debris and by adding gravel.
2. Improve our understanding of rivers – support better data and evidence to improve regulatory monitoring and recognise the value of citizen science alongside it.
Through our work engaging the public and encouraging them to take part in citizen science, we collect data on the health of our rivers. Examples include training volunteers to:
Discover how much misconnected plumbing is in our rivers through our Outfall Safari work
Carry out riverfly monitoring to judge the health of rivers and whether there has been pollution, by finding invertebrates
3. Support education and engagement about rivers – No one will protect what they don’t know about or understand – and what they have not experienced. So we need the Government to support education about the environment and rivers at all levels.
The South East Rivers Trust has an extensive education programme
The South East Rivers Trust has programmes supporting education of primary school children and community groups across London catchments and the River Mole.
Our events also demonstrate the value of our work through walks and talks across a wide range of topics and we take part in awareness campaigns such as London Rivers Week.
4. Make polluters pay – drive strong enforcement of those who pollute to turn the tide on the abuse of our rivers.
We have recently supported a campaign to clear Hoad’s Wood in Ashford of fly-tipping. After a petition, the Government has now issued a clean-up edict which will cost the taxpayer huge sums. Nobody has yet been traced to pay for the clean-up.
5. Manage land with water in mind – empower collaborative working that gets everyone involved in restoring our rivers.
Leaky wooden dams are a nature-based solution used by SERT on the River Beult among other places
At the South East Rivers Trust we lead several catchment partnerships across 12 river catchments. These work collaboratively with many other organisations and individuals to bring rivers back to life. They need investment and funding to do so.
Our Holistic Water for Horticulture project also works with food growers in Kent and the South East to ensure water efficiency and resilience in the process of getting food from farm to fork.
This is part of the work of our Water and Land Stewardship team, which has worked closely with farmers on the River Beult in Kent on nature-based solutions to retain water and enhance biodiversity, for the benefit of wildlife and people. We are involved in national pilots for Environmental Land Management Schemes, funded by Government, working with farms to manage land in sustainable ways.
For example, we are working with farmers and landowners and other environment NGOs on the River Darent catchment to implement a radical, large-scale approach to delivering climate benefits – starting with rivers.
Here are some questions you can ask your candidates
How will you and your party tackle all types of pollution in our rivers? Sewage is not the only issue; farming and road runoff pollution are also devastating our rivers.
Will your party boost funding for regulators and strengthen enforcement so polluters are made to pay for their pollution?
How will your party work with nature to improve river health and tackle climate change?
How will your party open up rivers and blue spaces in our towns and cities for health and wellbeing?
How will your party support farmers and businesses manage their land sustainably for water?
No matter where you live across our 12 catchments, there is a river near you. Find our river using our map, using your postcode. There a hundreds of candidates standing for constituencies from Berkshire through Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and south London who want your vote – so press them on the hot topics!
If you are writing to your candidates, you could use or adapt the Rivers Trust’s template, by copying and pasting the information below or adding in your own asks on rivers. Don’t forget you can source candidate details via The Electoral Commission.
Dear [Candidate name],
I will be voting for rivers in the General Election on 4th July 2024 and, as a local resident and voter, need to know how you intend to stand up for our waterways.
The Rivers Trust’s State of Our Rivers Report 2024 lays bare the dire health of our waterways, which are facing devastating levels of pollution, swinging between extremes of flood and drought, and experiencing shocking drops in biodiversity:
0% of stretches of river in England are in good or high overall health.
This is not breaking news – the issues faced by our rivers have been hitting the headlines for years and causing widespread public outcry. Yet not enough is being done to restore or protect our waterways.
Healthy rivers should be a priority for the next Government. From re-wiggling rivers, restoring floodplains, and greening our urban spaces, restoring our rivers means securing community resilience, a future for wildlife, and action for climate.
This is why I am supporting The Rivers Trust’s asks for political candidates and parties:
Prioritise nature recovery – make nature-based solutions like trees and wetlands to improve the environment and tackle climate change first choice, rather than relying on chemicals and concrete.
Improve our understanding of rivers – support better data and evidence to improve regulatory monitoring and recognise the value of citizen science alongside it.
Support education about rivers – no one will understand or care about what they haven’t experienced. Outdoor learning is key to nurturing a lifelong love of rivers.
Make polluters pay – drive strong enforcement of those who pollute to turn the tide on the abuse of our rivers.
Manage land with water in mind – empower collaborative working that gets everyone involved in restoring our rivers.
Please let me know what actions you and your party intend to take to deliver the asks above and restore the health of our waterways.
I look forward to hearing from you and, if possible, please copy info@theriverstrust.org in your reply.
Lou Sykes, our Catchment Officer for the River Loddon, has recently recruited volunteers to undergo training for riverfly monitoring on this catchment for the first time. In this blog, she emphasises the importance of this monitoring, details what volunteers should be looking for and puts out a call for more volunteers across our wider river networks.
This year, the Loddon Catchment Partnership is focusing on investigating poor sources of water quality. We at the South East Rivers Trust (SERT) have conducted riverfly volunteer training to educate the public about freshwater invertebrates, as these creatures can serve as indicators of pollution.
Twelve volunteers have completed the riverfly monitoring training and are now regularly conducting surveys on the upper Loddon near Basingstoke to initiate the riverfly regime in this area. They are now part of a nationwide initiative to assess water quality in rivers. By consistently monitoring the river, they can identify reductions in water quality and report potential pollution issues to the Environment Agency.
So, what are Riverflies?
Volunteers checking a river sample for an RMI survey
They are tiny creatures that live in our rivers (hopefully!). Creatures such as mayfly have an evolutionary history going back hundreds of millions of years. They will spend most of their life in the water as nymphs or larvae feeding on plant life or algae.
They do important work, such as keeping things clean or stopping the build up of too much detritus.
Others are predatory and feed on other aquatic invertebrates. Some make cases from leaves, twigs, tiny pebbles and sand, acting as little underwater architects.
Others cling to rocks in faster moving waters. Some create little shelters in rocks and build little nets out of silk which they produce to catch food as it passes by.
Why are riverflies important?
Riverflies are often referred to as the canaries of our rivers as they are excellent biological indicators for monitoring water quality. The canaries reference comes from an era when mining for coal was a prevalent industry in Britain: canaries would be sent down mines before humans to test how toxic the air was. If the birds died, it was not safe for minors to enter.
Similarly, riverflies are sensitive to pollution, so finding them in the water gives us an indication of the state of the river. With Rivers Trust statistics showing that only 15% of rivers in England are rated in good overall health, riverfly monitoring is a valuable way to test the continued health of a stretch of river.
A polluted section of the River Loddon
Riverflies live comparatively long lives as nymphs or larvae on the riverbed and are relatively localised within the waterway. The types of riverfly you can find vary based on habitat diversity, flow rate, water level and water quality, so you can tell how your river is functioning based on the groups that you find.
Monitoring for riverflies is a nationally important citizen science initiative (known as RMI), developed to monitor the health of rivers and to detect potential pollution events.
The Riverfly Partnership is a network of organisations, representing a wider range of stakeholders from anglers and water course managers to conservationists and relevant authorities that are looking to protect the water quality of our rivers and conserve riverfly habitats.
How do we survey for riverflies and what are we looking for?
We survey for riverflies using a kick-sweep sample. Essentially, this involves kitting up in a pair of waders, grabbing a net and getting into the stream to ‘kick’ the riverbed and disturb the gravels to knock invertebrates living on them into your net. Your net is also swept through submerged vegetation to capture any invertebrates living in those, too. These, plus a hand search of large rocks or any other items that can’t make it into your net (yes that does occasionally mean the odd shopping trolley) make up the sample you look at.
This goes in a tray on the bank to be analysed, looking to estimate numbers of three key groups of riverflies: the up-wing flies or mayflys (Ephemeroptera), caddisflies or sedges (Trichoptera), and stoneflies (Plecoptera). We also assign freshwater shrimp (Gammarus) to this category too.
What’s next? Sign up to help!
A riverfly monitoring tray helps volunteers count numbers and types of samples
Having empowered our new volunteers on the Loddon, we are looking to expand and recruit more people to help monitor the health of rivers.
We have already lined up more training later this summer, for another group of volunteers on the Loddon catchment, giving more people the thrill of knowing they are contributing to vital data.
Would you like to know more about the creepy crawlies living in your local river and what they show with regards to water quality? Could you spend a few hours each month monitoring a stretch of river?
We are interested in building a picture of potential volunteers, for whom we can design opportunities. Please get in touch on the below form to register your interest, so that we can understand how many people might want to be trained as riverfly monitors and where they are from.
Assistant Project Officer Luke Beckett reports on a week-long series of events with volunteers in mid-March, putting gravel into a stretch of a River Loddon tributary to improve conditions for river wildlife.
Anglers and conservation enthusiasts were among more than a dozen volunteers who joined us for the exhausting but rewarding task of installing more than 19 tonnes of gravel into the River Blackwater. In joining us earlier this month, they added a vital resource to help nature thrive into a 200 metre stretch of the river in Aldershot.
The newly seeded gravel, which is the final part of our Blackwater Valley river restoration work, will provide improved habitat for macroinvertebrates such as beetles, dragonflies and mayflies. It will also help aquatic plants thrive, as well as increasing spawning habitat for fish.
The River Blackwater at Ivy Road has historically suffered from bank and riverbed modifications. This section of the River Loddon catchment has been widened and deepened, leaving a uniform channel with little variation in water depth.
The channel has lacked flow energy and habitat diversity and subsequently, silt and fine sediments had built up, smothering the riverbed. Moreover, the site is just downstream of the Aldershot sewage treatment plant, which regularly discharges sewage effluent into the channel.
Since 2021, the South East Rivers Trust has worked with support from the Environment Agency and the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, plus local volunteers, to improve this stretch of river.
The in-channel deflectors and berms previously installed have helped to narrow the channel and increase water flow velocity, as well as habitat complexity. The increased velocity has already cleared much of the fine sediments and silt.
The newly-seeded land-based gravel will move around with the natural ebb and flow of the river, settling to form natural river features, such as bars, riffles and deeper pools.
This clean gravel and variety of river habitats is essential for river life: the River Blackwater supports a number of fish species – such as chubb, roach, perch, dace, gudgeon and rudd – all of which should benefit from this improved spawning habitat.
Gravel seeding is not the most glamorous of tasks. This site delivery was no different and was made difficult by the lack of access routes.
Large vehicle access to the river was not possible, which meant a lot of moving wheelbarrows loaded with heavy gravel from our drop off location to the channel itself.
The distance was at least 75 metres and up to 200 metres to push the gravel to the correct places, making this tough physical work. Wader wearing volunteers also had to rake the gravel once in the riverbed, sometimes having taken it to an appropriate location in a dinghy.
It was slow going at times, leaving us questioning whether the gravel pile was even going down! But, after four days, including a lot of rain, not enough sunshine and many teas, coffees and biscuits, the gravel pile was finally gone and the last wheelbarrow and boat load were emptied.
The team took a moment to look over their hard work from Ivy Bridge, where a few curious fish were already checking out the new riverbed, before the heavens opened once again!
This brings our river restoration work at Ivy Road Recreational Ground to a close, but we look forward to returning over the coming months and years to see how the channel responds.
Pollution in the Hogsmill River, by Toby Hull of the South East Rivers Trust
Brace yourselves: 0% of England’s rivers are in good overall health. A truly shocking fact for a habitat that’s so vital to all of us.
This and other alarming statistics come from the Rivers Trust’s 2024 State Of Our Rivers Report, which has been launched today (Monday 26th February).
Combining data, insightful maps, and illuminating case studies, the report dives into the data and evidence, offering us an insight into just how our rivers in the UK and Ireland are doing.
The data is clear:
No single stretch of river in England is in good overall health
Just 15% of English river stretches reach good ecological health standards
Toxic chemicals that remain in our ecosystems for decades pollute every stretch of English rivers
Healthy rivers can be a powerful ally in mitigating the effects of climate change, being able to protect communities from flood and drought, the report emphasises. They support a wealth of biodiversity. They also benefit our physical and mental well-being and are a fantastic way for us to reconnect with nature.
However, these vital ecosystems are plagued by sewage, chemical, nutrient and plastic pollution. They have been heavily modified, so they don’t function as naturally as they should.
All this means that our aquatic wildlife, from plants to fish, is having to work harder to survive – and that rivers can be unpleasant places to visit or to use for recreation.
So, what can you do? Here’s five actions you can take
1 Write to your MP to demand meaningful action
Demand better for your river
If you are shocked by the state of our rivers, write to your MP to demand change.
Tell them that restoring rivers is climate action, supports wildlife and protects communities.
The report allows you to search for your local stretch of river and use its stats and maps on sewage, barriers in rivers and chemicals to arm yourself with facts before contacting your MP.
You can contact your MP via the Rivers Trust’s portal – and add your own words to the template.
Ask your elected representative what they are doing about river health. We want you to demand better Government action for our rivers, through better water quality monitoring, investment in infrastructure for sewage treatment and better funding for Nature-based Solutions.
To help you when you write, we have compiled a State Of Our Rivers Catchment Crib Sheet with a basic comparison of Water Framework Directive ratings for our catchments between 2019 and 2022.
We would also encourage you to speak up for some of our recent work (below) and show how it is making a real difference to rivers.
For example:
Volunteers plant up berms at Morden Hall Park in September 2023
Nature-based solutions such as leaky woody dams are holding water longer in the landscape of the Beult area of the River Medway. This increases biodiversity and helps nature thrive, as well as slows water flow into the main river, where it is abstracted for human use. As those who went on our Nature-based Safari concluded: We need to make more of this happen on a wider scale.
Deflectors and planted berms extending parts of the bank have re-wiggled a straight section of the River Wandle in Morden Hall Park (pictured). This works wonders for wildlife, varying the flow of the water and giving fish and invertebrates places of refuge and areas to breed.
New wetlands constructed at Chamber Mead have brought fresh hope to the Hogsmill. They divert pollution which will help protect 5km of precious chalk stream.
Our Holistic Water for Horticulture project works with growers towards a 2030 target that 50% of the UK’s fresh food is sourced from areas with sustainable water management. The south east is an area already classed as water-stressed and this is an issue that affects our food security.
We’re also working to put rivers at the heart of landowner thinking as part of the Darent Landscape Recovery Project, a Government-funded pilot.
2 Shout out for your local river on social media
Join the fight for healthy rivers
What’s your local stretch of river? How do you use it and how does it affect your mood? Perhaps you visit it for pleasure with your dog on a daily walk, or use it for recreation such as rowing, canoeing or swimming.
However you care about your local river and interact with it, we want you to tell us online. Once you have found out about the condition of your local river via the State of Our Rivers report, make a noise about it!
Report what you see – for good or bad – whether that’s young fish thriving and wildlife flourishing, or plastic pollution and sewage outfall spills.
Use the hashtag #StateofOurRivers and find us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Why not tag the elected representative you have emailed, too? You can also tag @TheRiversTrust on all channels.
3 Sign up to be an Everyday River Hero
Whether you are a seasoned, long-term river user or you’ve been caught up in the increasing wave of publicity around sewage and other river issues, we want you to become an Everyday River Hero.
It might be hard to believe given our wet winter, but the south east of England actually receives less annual rainfall than the south of France. We face a real threat of not being able to meet supply by 2050, because of a growing population and climate change.
Launched in January, our 10-week email programme will tell you why rivers are essential for our daily lives and how to care for and protect wildlife, when you are exploring the great outdoors or at home. How – and how much – water you use in your bathroom and kitchen, as well as your garden can be as vital for rivers and the wildlife that thrives in them as the flea treatments you use on your dogs.
We always get a huge thrill when we can involve volunteers directly in work to help rivers thrive. There is nothing like enabling communities to take action for the stretch of water they love.
Help install gravel on the River Blackwater in Aldershot. Join us to improve this stretch of the River Loddon for fish and invertebrates on any of four days, from March 12th to 15th.
Sign up for Outfall Safari training on the Beverley Brook, on 20th. Join us and the Zoological Society of London to learn to spot and report misconnected plumbing that is polluting rivers. The results will help trace appliances such as washing machines that have been connected to the wrong pipes when they were installed.
To book, visit our events page – and bookmark it for subsequent volunteering opportunities during 2024.
5 Book our education sessions for your school or youth group
A school education session
Educating our youngest citizens is a core part of our work on the Beverley Brook, Hogsmill and Wandle rivers, where we hold sessions for Key Stage 1 and 2, in schools and along rivers. Our sessions are available for youth groups, too, so inspire them to cherish their local waterway by booking a session.
We also run school sessions on the River Mole, under the Our River Our Water programme.
If you are a parent or teacher, read our education page for full details and encourage your school community to get in touch!
As one teacher said about our curriculum linked sessions: “They fit exactly with what we have been learning and the children enjoyed all the activities.”
Volunteers came out in large numbers during this year’s Loddon Rivers Week, held in September, to enhance river habitats in various ways, such as by adding gravels and installing deflectors.
Some of the 80+ volunteers across half a dozen sites, who clocked up more than 300 volunteer hours, were part of established groups which regularly look after sections of this river network.
However, this year’s focus week on the Loddon, co-ordinated by the South East Rivers Trust, was also a launchpad for future action to enhance this river network, which stretches across Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.
Many people became involved in caring the river for the first time, including families keen to get involved in volunteer work parties or learning to assess river health through carrying out Riverfly monitoring for invertebrates, which they can do regularly in the coming months.
Our Loddon Catchment Officer Lou Sykes reports.
The Fish: improving habitats
Volunteers prepare to install gravel into the River Whitewater
Volunteers installed 21 tonnes of gravel into the River Whitewater at Bassetts Mead, Hook, to establish deep pools and shallow riffles, creating a rollercoaster of newly improved habitat for fish and invertebrates. Fresh gravels allow fish to spawn.
Over the past three years, in partnership with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, 81 tonnes of gravel have been added to the river, improving a 200 metre section of the river.
During this year’s Loddon Rivers Week activities, volunteers also built a willow dead hedge, protecting the new riffles from dogs and children passing by on the footpath.
The new dead hedge at Bassetts Mead, protecting the river
The sun: bringing light to the Petty’s Brook
Vegetation at the Petty’s Brook was cut back to bring light to the river
In Chineham, near Basingstoke, volunteers ‘daylighted’ a section of the Petty’s Brook. The stream in this section is largely overshaded, has a concrete lined bed and banks, and acts more like a small canal than river environment.
Overshading of a river can be one of the reasons that prevents the river from reaching good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive.
Trees are a vital element of the ecology of a river environment: they help to reduce water temperatures in summer months and to maintain oxygen levels in the water. Aquatic plants and algae are also an important component of a healthy stream, and excessive shading and reduced light prevents these from growing. We must create the right balance when restoring rivers, creating dappled shade to get the best of both worlds.
With the Chineham Volunteer Group, a relatively new group, we removed vegetation that was causing the river to be enclosed in a tunnel of trees and shrub, giving the stream encouragement to grow some aquatic plants.
Sticklebacks – a torpedo shaped small fish – moved in quickly post-clearance, giving young children at the event the opportunity to catch and inspect them in a net before setting them free back into their revamped environment.
The bugs: training communities to identify invertebrates
Families learnt to identify invertebrates in a Riverfly sample taken from the upper Loddon
Water quality is the hot topic in the Loddon catchment this year, with projects starting to accurately monitor the state of the water on our patch.
Riverfly monitoring, in part measuring which invertebrates are in rivers, is a nationally important citizen science initiative used to monitor the health of rivers and to detect pollution events.
This year, we included a riverfly ‘show and tell’ for a keen group of residents in and around Basingstoke who will soon be donning wellies or waders to start monitoring the upper stretches in our catchment.
We introduced the basics and set them up to get them identifying the invertebrates in the samples. The four bullhead fish that made it into the invertebrates sample were a happy addition to the , freshwater shrimps, mayflies, snails and leeches also found.
Revisiting the past to see the difference
In addition to all the new activities this year, we also revisited on old project at Arborfield near Reading – a novel nature-like bypass channel facilitating fish migration around four permanent weirs, which impound and restrict rivers: 11 years on, a quick fish survey showed brown trout, chub, barbel, perch and pike all living in the established channel.
As part of this event, the Wild Trout Trust demonstrated some habitat improvement techniques, installing a woody deflector and willow ledge, to improve habitat in the new channel.
Our video shows the water flowing over the new deflector.
Thank you to partners and funders
Loddon Rivers Week, which has been running since 2017, does not happen without an enormous amount of collective effort from partners, and a special thank you must go to the Environment Agency and Network Rail for funding the coordination of the week.
We would also like to thank the partners involved in the week, including Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Loddon Fisheries and Conservation Consultative, Wokingham Borough Council, Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council, Chineham Volunteer Group, Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, SOLVE (Save Our Loddon Valley Environment), Hook Parish Council and Rushmoor Borough Council.
We’ll be back next year to repeat the progress made this year! Meanwhile, read our River Loddon storymap to find out the issues faced by this network, learn about what the catchment partnership, comprised of dozens of organisations, has achieved already and how you can become involved. Or keep an eye on our events page for volunteering opportunities.
Luke Beckett, one of our assistant project officers, reports on our latest river restoration work on the Blackwater Restoration Project. This has improved the ability of fish to move along the river, opening up a 4.5km stretch known as the Wish Stream tributary, where it meets the River Blackwater, in the north Hampshire stretch of the River Loddon.
Helping fish move between river sections
A concrete shelf, just visible below the water, made it difficult for fish to pass when the water flow is low
This was my first fish passage improvement since joining the South East Rivers Trust, so it was particularly fulfilling to deliver this work, which will help fish pass between the two watercourses and access good spawning habitat.
The River Blackwater, a tributary of the River Loddon which stretches across parts of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey, has long suffered from ‘poor’ fish classification status and only recently gained ‘good’ status. We aim to maintain or even exceed this status in the future and one way to contribute towards this is by improving the ability for fish to move easily between different sections.
The Wish Stream is an important semi-rural tributary of the River Blackwater, which supports a population of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and offers good spawning habitat in its lower reaches. Subsequently, improving connectivity between the Wish Stream and the River Blackwater is important for ensuring resilient fish populations in the catchment.
At the confluence of the two watercourses, we identified a concrete shelf which poses an obstruction to fish and eel movement, particularly during low-flow conditions.
Sloping notch and coping stones
The coping stones were added to the river, above the concrete shelf
The concrete shelf reduced the water depth, making it too shallow for fish to pass over. It also created a small weir between the Wish Stream and the River Blackwater during low-flow conditions, preventing fish moving up into the tributary. The smooth concrete also made it difficult for European eels to move along the river. This critically endangered species requires rougher substrates and slower flowing water to migrate along rivers.
An eel brush (right) and notch improve fish passage on the Wish Stream
To make this confluence more fish friendly, we created a sloping notch/ramp down the front of the concrete, allowing water to flow more naturally. The concrete was particularly hard – too hard for our machines and so we had to return with a hydraulic breaker to finish the notch.
In addition to this, we installed coping stones along the edge of the concrete to increase water depth over the shelf, enabling fish species to swim through. Finally, we improved the climbing substrate for European eels by adding an eel brush over the crest of the coping stones and safely down onto the concrete bed and vegetation upstream.
This passage improvement work was a relatively simple and straightforward delivery project. Most of it was completed in just over a day, although we had to wait until conditions were right to complete the final notch, and we were able to use coping stones which were left over from a previous project.
Great for brown trout and eels
Completing the work on the Wish Stream
The work enables fish, such as brown trout and European eels, to access important habitat for spawning and juvenile recruitment along the Wish Stream, which is roughly a 4.5km stretch of waterway.
It also allows mature individuals to disperse down into the River Blackwater and mix with other populations. With improved access to these habitats, fish numbers will hopefully increase and provide a greater prey source for other species such as kingfishers and herons.
Such improvement works show that sometimes it doesn’t take much to connect habitat and improve conditions for a range of species. I am looking forward to returning over the coming months to see these benefits. We hope this enhanced connectivity will strengthen fish populations in the catchment long into the future and I hope this is my first of many fish passage improvement deliveries.
River lovers are being urged to sign an open letter calling on all political parties to adopt a five-point plan for wildlife in their manifestos for the next General Election, likely to take place in 2024.
The Rivers Trust movement has joined an 80-strong coalition of partners to support the Nature 2030 Campaign. It is led by the Wildlife and Countryside Link and supported by celebrities including television personalities Steve Backshall and Chris Packham.
Research shows that the UK has become one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with more than one in seven native wildlife species facing extinction.
The campaign outlines that in 2022 sewage was discharged for more than 2.4 million hours across England, Scotland and Wales, accounting for more than 389,000 sewage spills. Commitments were set in 2021 to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, but there’s a long way to go to meet these targets. With only seven years to go, just 3% of land and 4% of sea have this protection. We need stronger environmental leadership and the Nature 2030 campaign demands it.
Thousands of people have already signed the letter, which was launched at Westminster in July.
As one of the largest regional rivers trusts, the South East Rivers Trust (SERT) is urging supporters to back the campaign, which has five key asks for political parties:
Double the wildlife-friendly farming budget to £6bn for ambitious farm improvements and large-scale nature restoration
Make polluters pay for nature restoration by requiring big businesses to deliver environmental improvement plans and funding to counter damage
Create green jobs on a large scale, including setting up a National Nature Service delivering wide-scale habitat restoration
Increase protection and funding for wildlife sites by creating a Public Nature Estate to fulfil the promise to protect 30% of the land and sea for nature by 2030
Set up a new law guaranteeing a right to a healthy environment, establishing a human right to clean air and water plus access to nature, plus building nature into decision making
Hester Liakos, co-CEO of SERT, said: “Rivers are at the heart of the battle to restore nature. Our work with local communities, farmers and landowners demonstrates the positive difference that nature based solutions and natural flood management can make in improving the health and biodiversity of rivers. But to make this difference on the scale that nature truly needs requires more funding and greater commitment and leadership from Government – so we’re asking our supporters to sign this open letter to demand action from all political leaders.”
Tessa Wardley, Director of Communications and Advocacy at the Rivers Trust, said: “The public are rightfully outraged by the state of our rivers and we need political parties to make firm commitments towards their recovery, which are then backed up by action. Delivering the Nature 2030 policies would significantly improve the health of our rivers, which are absolutely core to tackling the biodiversity, climate and wellbeing crises we face as a nation and planet.”
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Catchment Officer? What is it exactly they do? The South East Rivers Trust’s catchment officer for the Loddon River catchment, Lou Sykes, takes us through a typical week; from admin tasks to going out and assessing the state of sections of rivers with partners, to plan improvements.
Lou says: “My job in its simplest form? I host Catchment Partnerships, meaning I chair meetings of different stakeholders with a geographical common interest in a particular collection of rivers which make up one named network. In my case, one of these is the River Loddon and another the Cuckmere & Pevensey Levels.
“The external partners in a partnership could be water companies, the Environment Agency and Natural England, environmental NGOs, community flood groups, local councils, fishing groups. All of them have an interest in improving the health of the river. Collectively, we want to improve and maintain the health of the river network as a whole, not just treat sections in isolation.
“As detailed on our Catchment Partnerships page, this method is guided by the national Catchment Based Approach (CaBA). Every catchment partnership is different, and this is why they work so well: you can tailor them to your patch and work on the specific needs of that river system.”
Monday
Typically, this is a working from home day. I start with a morning catch up with the Science and Partnerships team before going through my emails. I complete admin tasks such as writing minutes from a Catchment Partnership meeting I hosted recently, then send off a few emails for events and activities planned for later in the week.
Tuesday
Assessing water quality on the River Lyde
Today I was involved producing a statement piece that provides a holistic view on the water quality of the river.
This included information gathering on legal and illegal discharges into rivers, drinking water standard breaches and citizen scientist data collection.
We have been working with local MPs who have a keen interest in their local river and want to work with citizen scientists – members of the public who volunteer for tasks in their spare time.
Through them we want to understand the current state of the water quality and investigate ways that we can monitor and make improvements.
Wednesday
Meeting the catchment partnership members out on site
Catchment Partnership meeting day! These happen quarterly and it was exciting to have our first one in-person, post-COVID. Typically, our meetings have themes – this one focused on looking at emerging water company plans as they go through their next phase of business planning for both their Water Industry National Environment Programme (known as WINEPs) and their Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs).
Other topics at meetings can vary from looking at biodiversity and wildlife (both native and invasive species) to investigating ideas for tearing up a weir that is acting as a barrier to fish who need to move between different sections of river to find the best feeding and breeding grounds.
By engaging many different parties in this collaborative format, we are providing the opportunity for community groups, government bodies and water companies to come together and form common goals to help rivers thrive. This is particularly important as it allows us to look at the area in a ‘big picture’ format because in every river system, what happens upstream impacts the downstream area.
Thursday
Thursday was spent exploring funding for a potential backwater
This was a strategic day of investigating new funding opportunities that could be available for research, project development and delivery – the on-the-ground restoration work that will improve rivers for wildlife and as places people can enjoy. Being a project-funded organisation means we are constantly looking for funding opportunities. We might be looking to “rewiggle” – or remeander – a straightened river. We might want to help fish connect to different parts of a river network by removing man-made, historical objects such as weirs, as we have done at Acacia Hall, Dartford, or by installing eel or fish passes, like we have done further along the Darent. We might be wanting to look to create backwaters to increase biodiversity and mitigate against potential flooding. For one such example, read about Charvil Meadows, on our Loddon Storymap (in the “Action plan” section under “case studies”).
All this work requires funding, and the co-operation of landowners and other interested groups to make it happen, so the over-riding strategy has to look at prioritisation to improve the whole catchment. On this particular week, I also got out to meet and continue to develop a relationship with one of the key stakeholders on my patch. These meetings are some of the most vital parts of my job. Time and resource in every environmental job is a stretch and collaborative working is the key to keeping everything on track.
I finished off the day with a catch up of our Catchment Officers team at SERT. We are constantly evolving and working out ways that we can work more efficiently, working together so that we are not reinventing the wheel every time something new crops up.
Friday
A large part of my job also involves putting on a pair of wellies, getting out on site and identifying opportunities in the catchment for improving stretches of river or their surrounding land.
A scene from the Lyde tributary
On this particular Friday, I walked three miles up the River Lyde – one of the tributaries of the River Loddon – with members of a local fishing club. They were looking at how they could possibly manage the river for both their fishing club members and to keep the waterway as healthy as possible. This stretch of river is a chalk stream, so we would like the water to be clear, with clean gravel, plenty of underwater plants and a decent buffer of green on the banks. Chalk streams are globally rare habitat with only about 200 of them left in the world, 160 of which are in the UK.
Pleasingly on this day, on this river, a healthy amount of aquatic plant growth was evident and there was a good amount of shade and light getting to the channel. However, it could do with some habitat or restoration work to help mitigate erosions on some stretches.
Not every week looks exactly like this, but this is an average one. There will be weeks where there is more home working, the odd day in our HQ office in Leatherhead in Surrey, or you could end up hosting a week of volunteer events that put you in a pair of waders all week, such as during Loddon Rivers Week held annually in September.
This is the beauty of being a catchment officer or manager – it’s varied nature keeps you on your toes and gives very little opportunity for burn out from doing the same thing over and over again.
The launch of our River Loddon Storymap, on behalf of the catchment partnership, allows residents across the area to see the problems faced by the river and the collective actions of around 20 partners in trying to improve the waterways. Residents can also sign up to join in, as individuals or to join the partnership as a group. Lou Sykes, catchment officer for the Loddon, introduces the new Storymap.
Capturing the work of catchments
The Whitewater, a tributary of the Loddon
Since its inception in 2000 as the Wandle Trust working on one river, the South East Rivers Trust (SERT) has grown exponentially and now cares for and maintains watercourses across 12 catchments in the south east of England.
SERT is also long established in the Beverley Brook and Hogsmill catchments, hosting and chairing the catchment partnerships. These lead a variety of organisations to devise ways to assess the issues faced by rivers and create plans to improve them using the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA).
Our growth is such that we now partially or fully host and chair 11 of the 12 catchment partnerships throughout the south east. This area stretches from the Kent coast to the Sussex coast, meandering through Surrey and encompassing much of Berkshire and north Hampshire.
It is for this latter area, the 680 km2 River Loddon catchment, that SERT has now launched a Storymap, capturing the partners, issues and plans to improve the whole network of watercourses. This will be the first in a series of new Storymaps on various catchments that will be released in 2023, funded by Thames Water.
The ArcGIS Storymap portal is a story authoring, web-based application, that enables an organisation to share maps in the context of narrative text and other multimedia content.
Using this facility, SERT’s catchment partnerships can detail the pressures faced by the river networks and introduce objectives for improving rivers and the surrounding areas, as identified by the partnership.
Bringing different groups together to solve the river’s issues
A scene from the Lyde tributary
By creating this presence online, the catchment partnership raises awareness and becomes a supportive group, speaking with one voice. In the case of the Loddon catchment, this brings about 20 different groups together: this better empowers collaborative working and helps to ensure all issues affecting the river are noted, captured and addressed under one umbrella. By working together, the catchment partnership can plan and deliver positive actions that will improve the riparian environment across a whole river network, as opposed to working on sections in isolation.
Leading on the Loddon catchment partnership, SERT brings together people from various local organisations and interest groups including water companies, government bodies, local flood groups and angling clubs.
Giving communities and groups the chance to have their voices heard is crucial to the Catchment Based Approach, empowering them with a sense of ownership as the partnership delivers action on the ground.
Summaries of issues affecting the river range from the general to the specific, such as under water quality. Did you know, for example, that road runoff can carry more than 300 different pollutants which can cause short and long-term damage to watercourses?
Consented discharges on the Loddon
Meanwhile, one of many bespoke maps details the phosphate status of the river network, which rises from chalk-fed streams in Basingstoke and goes all the way to Reading and stretches across to Aldershot. Another map shows the pollution from waste water. Another details the topical issue of sewage spillages.
The extend to which the catchment is affected by flooding, low flows and abstraction is also outlined, with a warning: “The primary risk of flooding in the Loddon catchment is from rivers – and flooding events are being projected to become more frequent and more severe as the climate changes.”
Flood zones and areas most susceptible to flooding, from both rivers and surface water, are shown in another map.
The site also reports the extent to which physical modifications have impacted river health. Like many rivers, the Loddon has been modified over centuries – straightened, widened or deepened – to improve drainage for land, housing, industry and farming.
Habitat quality on the Loddon
River habitat quality is also shown, with just one area rated as having a truly diverse habitat, according to River Habitat Survey methods. Many areas across the catchment have good ranges of habitat, but others are rated as poor. Another map outlines the results of fish surveys, compiled as indications of river health, allowing readers to click on specific areas.
The issues section ends with a warning: “The number of people living in Basingstoke, Wokingham, Sandhurst, Fleet and Aldershot is rapidly growing and these towns have multiple areas of new development proposed between 2023-2040.
“The south east of England is in the midst of a water shortage crisis. Growing populations together with our changing climate pose a severe risk to the health of our rivers. Many of the challenges faced by our river catchments are likely to be intensified by the demands of a growing population.“
So what can be done?
Perch found at Tice’s Meadow in Loddon Rivers Week 2022
A key section of the Storymap is the action plan, outlining “natural processes opportunity mapping” that includes the potential for “floodplain reconnection”, for example lowering artificially incised riverbanks, the potential for riverside woodlands and such opportunities across the wider catchment.
Key priorities are to identify habitat improvements, deliver restoration or enhancements, improve fish passage by tackling barriers, keep rivers cool in the face of a changing climate and tackling invasive species.
It also outlines the benefit of natural capital mapping. “Taking a GIS-based catchment approach to understanding the location, condition and potential of natural assets,” the portal says “allows us to target action to protect water resources and communicate change. This enables us to integrate a catchment-scale nature-based solutions approach with water company plans, catchment partnerships, and landowners.”
Mentioning work that has been carried out on the catchment so far, the portal highlights Loddon Rivers Week, which takes place every September. Last year, residents witnessed instant improvements after taking part in gravel seeding in Hook and installed large woody materials at Tice’s Meadow and Ivy Recreation Ground in Aldershot. Other work on the Loddon involves a long-standing effort to remove Floating Pennywort and creation of the Charvil Meadows backwater in 2020.
Lastly, the Get Involved section prompts people who see issues with their river to report them to the relevant authority, to suggest enhancement protects, join the partnership as a group, volunteer for events or invest in the river by financially supporting enhancement work.
Whatever you want to know about the Loddon, visit the Storymap and get involved!
Every five years, water companies in England are required to produce a Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which outlines how they intend to meet the expected water demands not just in the next five years but over the next 50 in their respective service areas.
These plans take into account increasing population, climate change and growing risks of drought – while also protecting and enhancing the local environment.
An important part of the WRMP plans is customer feedback on topics which concern them most. They are currently in draft form and out for public consultation.
The South East Rivers Trust has launched a Chalk Streams Review, to ensure that all rivers and streams which qualify across our catchments are identified and mapped. Dr Chris Gardner, our Head of Science and Partnerships, sets out the plan and how the public can help.
Some of the volunteers who took part in Loddon Rivers Week witnessed immediate improvements to waterways, reports Lou Sykes, our Loddon Catchment Officer.
The annual week of events took place at the end of September. Activities varied from walks and talks to giving people hands-on opportunities to get involved in river restoration.
Come and join the South East Rivers Trust and partners for a fun-packed series of events to improve the health of the River Loddon.
During Loddon Rivers Week, running between Monday 26th September and Sunday 2nd October, there’s something for everyone, whether it is joining in guided walks or donning waders and taking positive action via restoration work in rivers across several parts of the catchment.
You’ll need to sign up for all activities in advance on our events page or via the contact details below.
Almost a year to the day that the South East Rivers Trust constructed a backwater on the River Loddon in Charvil Meadows, we were back to do further enhancements as part of Loddon Rivers Week 2021.
This was just one of a series of river work that took place during this celebration of the River Loddon and its tributaries, between 18th-26th September. The work to co-ordinate the week was funded by the Environment Agency.
During the week, volunteers planted native plants to stabilise the banks of the previously constructed backwater, put in gravel to a chalk stream, tackled invasive species and enjoyed learning about bats.
Several partners were involved in the week, including Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, the Loddon Fisheries and Conservation Consultative, Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, Hampshire County Council and Dinton Pastures County Park.
While works are being planned to restore the Emm Brook in Riverside Park, Wokingham, the South East Rivers Trust has begun engaging the community through an interschool competition.
Primary schools in the area were all invited to take part in the School River Challenge. Schools competed to get the most pupils to become certified Junior River Rangers. The prize? A class set of river dipping equipment.
The competition was run over the June half term. It was launched in each school with an assembly – delivered virtually over Zoom – in the week beginning 17th May. Many teachers took the week before half term to undertake some of the Junior River Ranger activities as a class. Children were then encouraged to complete the remaining activities with family and friends. In the course of the competition, we received more than 300 hits on our Junior River Ranger webpage!
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