THIS month’s column is brought by Bromsgrove Climate Action.
OUR RIVERS are vital to our existence but are in trouble.
They carry the results of all we do in their surroundings.
We have channelled them, broken them up with barriers and polluted them.
No river in England is completely clean (House of Commons Committee report 2022).
English rivers are by far the worst in the UK and among the worst in Europe.
The Severn is our most polluted river.
Much of the pollution we can see – plastic bottles, wipes, single use plastic, grey waste water from sewage overflows and murky soil from fields.
Agricultural run off from farms accounts for 40 per cent of pollution, from chemical fertilisers and manure, pesticides and pathogens from animal waste.
It leaches into rivers, especially after heavy rain resulting in a build up of algae which blocks the light and reduces oxygen, killing fish, plants, fish eggs and invertebrates.
The Wye pollution is about 70 per cent due to this, particularly from intensive poultry farming.
Hereford Wildlife Trust said the Wye had two years before it was completely dead if action is not taken. But farmers need Government support to tackle this.
Sewage discharge accounts for 36 per cent of pollution.
Lack of investment in Victorian sewage infrastructure has resulted in treatment plants being unable to cope and tipping it into our rivers, especially after heavy rain.
This happened 200,000 times last year. The rest is industrial pollution and run off from roads and towns.
Even clear looking water can hold microplastics, chemicals and pesticides (Rivers Trust).
A Task Force set up by Government to deal with river pollution has been hampered by huge funding cuts and water sampling has reduced by half since 2013.
It sounds like a lost cause, but Europe has managed to turn this around – 85 per cent of rivers there are now rated excellent.
We can do the same. We need to take action. We need to invest in our sewage system. We need increased monitoring.
We need accountability for water companies not complying. We need a national plan for rivers, including farmers taking steps to prevent run off.
We need to reduce water consumption. There are things we can all do – we can use less plastic and dispose of waste properly, use environmentally safe cleaning products, avoid pesticides and fertilisers, conserve water, not tip fat or medicines down the sink or throw wipes down the toilet. These all end up in our rivers.
We can eat less meat, cutting down on farming effluent run off.
We can keep concrete in our gardens to a minimum, avoiding flooding. We can also plant trees (prevents erosion and flooding) and support environmental groups.
Most importantly, there is an election this year. Let us all ask our candidates if they will support action in Parliament to protect our environment, and vote for the ones that will.
