CAN WE RESURRECT OUR RIVERS?

They’re our worldwide water web, but rivers aren’t getting the respect they deserve right now. It’s time to go against the flow...

Join the crusaders on a mission to champion our waterways

Rivers are underrated. Fact. It’s easy to see why many of us fall for oceans, with their luminous coral reefs and mysterious creatures that glow in the inky depths. And lakes? Well, they had Wordsworth on side. But rivers are easily overlooked as they slip quietly through our towns and villages. Perhaps that explains why – since the 1990s – the Environment Agency has monitored water quality at beach and lake bathing sites, but no rivers have been subject to the same standards – until now (more on that later). And perhaps that accounts for why, in 2020, every river in England failed pollution testing. Every. Single. One.

But we underestimate rivers at our peril. Freshwater ecosystems are home to more than 100,000 species. And wetlands store 550 gigatonnes of carbon (that’s the weight of more than six million blue whales), drawing it down from our atmosphere. Plus, with five million of us going wild swimming even before the pandemic, it would be nice to take a dip without fear of imperiling your own health.

Thankfully, there’s a growing movement to stop selling our rivers short. From national campaigners to grass-roots activists, a band of crusaders are making it their mission to champion our waterways. We meet some of those leading the charge…