Photo: The River Trent Washlands restoration project, Summer 2025.
Helping communities to help rivers
The world's rivers have never been under so much stress.
Even in the UK and Ireland, rivers are under huge pressure from water extraction ("abstraction"), climate change, pollution, and other human activities.
The UK Rivers Network brings people together to create a better future for rivers and inland waters in the UK and Ireland.
How this website works
It's really easy to get involved in helping your local river. Here are five simple things you can do:
Love your river
Find out about festivals, talks, voluntary river clean-ups, and other events. → More
Enjoy your river with a walk or cycle ride. → More
What's new?
The River Test at Mottisfont, Hampshire in summer.
Here are some new things on our website and elsewhere...
UK and Ireland: local community river groups: Want to get involved with local river conservation projects? Did you know there are about 200 local community groups (and related projects) working to clean up our rivers and keep them in tip-top shape? Check out our updated, interactive map and list.- River events 2026: Festivals, walks, talks, courses... and much more!
- River walks and cycle rides: We've recently updated our list of several hundred riverside walks and cycle routes all around the UK.
And, of course, our weekly river news feed is back!
Latest UK rivers news
Our news feed is back! You can also search for news items yourself on our news archive page.
Here's a PDF of our current newsletter (28 September 2026).
September 2026
- 27 September 2026: Happy World Rivers Day to rivers everywhere!: Millions of people in over 100 countries will, once again, be celebrating their rivers on the last Sunday in September.
- 25 September 2026: River Wye pollution plan "too little, too late" for anglers: Anglers say they feel "dismayed and betrayed" over the latest plans to tackle pollution in the River Wye. Ross-on-Wye Angling Club (RoWAC) has strongly criticised the Environment Agency's (EA) Diffuse Water Pollution Plan (DWPP), which aims to address pollution in the River Wye Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
- 25 September 2026: Anna Dixon, MP: It's time to bring water back into public hands: Writing in The Yorkshire Post this week, the Shipley MP explains why "our rivers are being poisoned by a broken system" and why it's time for public ownership once more.
- 25 September 2026: Pollute rivers if you like: so long as you pay for deer cull, housebuilders told: As we reported last week, a new quid-pro-quo scheme for housebuilders is raising eyebrows in East Anglia. Lucie Heath takes up the case in The I: "In a bid to boost housebuilding, ministers have agreed to a plan that they admit will see increased sewage being pumped into Norfolk's rare chalk streams". But some bigger, broader context is needed here. Last November, we raised eyebrows over Tony Juniper's disappointing conversion on the Tarmac-paved road to Damascus, switching his view from an exhortation
"not to trot out the tired old thinking of the late 20th century" (at Friends of the Earth, 2007) to doing precisely that with a 1990s "green capitalist" relish at "how seamlessly environmental ambition aligns with business objectives" (at Natural England, 2025). This is the "tired-old" "builders not blockers thinking" that essentially informs the new East Anglian plan.
- 24 September 2026: First look behind scenes of UK-first Severn Trent sewage plant: BBC Midlands science and environment correspondent David Gregory-Kumar looks at the new Monkmoor Sewage Treatment, outside Shrewsbury, which treats and cleans waste water that can be returned to the system with a quality almost the same as that in a river. Campaign group Up Sewage Creek said the firm had not been "very transparent" over whether the operation is truly effective and offers value for money.
- 24 September 2026: West Cumbria Rivers Trust launches interactive 'Watery Walk' in Distington: The walking route follows Stubskill Beck and features five unique oak sculptures created by artist Daniel Weatheritt. Commissioned by West Cumbria Rivers Trust, the sculptures form the centrepiece of the new Watery Walk, inviting visitors to explore the stories of local wildlife and the landscape around them.
- 24 September 2026: Wildlife Trust: Britains are hungry for nature protection: The British public want more than 60% of Britain's land protected for nature, according to new polling being taken to the Labour Conference this weekend by The Wildlife Trusts. The figure is more than double the UK Government's commitment to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.
- 24 September 2026: FBA: The next five years' commitment to action for freshwaters: The Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) has launched its new Organisational Plan for 2026-2031, setting out an ambitious programme of work to increase action and impact for freshwater ecosystems over the next five years.
- 24 September 2026: Connecting a local community to their river in Co Tyrone: An update from Northern Ireland on a Speedwell Trust project to engage the community around the Torrent River through education and activities such as litter picking, with volunteers playing an important role.
- 24 September 2026: Pierrepont Farm welcomes water voles to the River Wey: From The Countryside Regeneration Trust: "We’re delighted to be part of a huge community effort to bring water voles back to the River Wey - where they were locally extinct - from the South Downs to the Thames. 300 nationally-endangered water voles have been reintroduced to a main section of River Wey in West Surrey".
- 24 September 2026: Ash Smith's report on the Parliamentary Water "referendum debate": WASP (Windrush Against Sewage Pollution) campaigner Ash Smith and friends were in Parliament last week to watch the debate prompted by his stunningly successful petition, which has been signed by 213,266 people to date. Here's his account of what happened on the day.
- 23 September 2026: Invasive demon shrimp discovered in River Kennet tributary: An invasive species of shrimp has been discovered in a protected waterway, raising concerns for native species and the wider ecosystem. The charity Action for the River Kennet (ARK) is urging those who encounter the species, which can outcompete native species, to report it to them - and follow the government's Check, Clean, Dry guidance to stop the demon shrimp spreading further.
- 23 September 2026: Campaigner seeks protection for 'unwell' River Teme: A campaigner says he wants to see the River Teme given more legal rights because he believes it has become "unwell". Sam Jones, who lives in Shropshire, says he has seen a decline in aquatic species and an "invasion" by non-native species of both plants and animals.
- 23 September 2026: Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust: Skeeby Beck: A River Reconnected: Sarah Lonsdale explains how a major slurry pollution episode led to the rewarding regeneration of Skeeby Beck.
- 23 September 2026: Fracking: Friends of the Earth objects to permit for North Yorkshire project: Groundwater concerns are one of the issues highlighted in Friends of the Earth's formal objection to an Environment Agency proposal to grant Europa Gas and Oil a permit for its planned fracking operations in Burniston, North Yorkshire.
- 23 September 2026: River Action: Join us in calling for a new chapter for Thames Water: River Action have just launched The Tiger Who Came For Our Water, a parody book that uses the story of a very greedy tiger to explain how excessive debt, underinvestment in infrastructure and profiteering have contributed to the crisis facing Thames Water.
- 23 September 2026: The Rivers Trust: Revealing the extent of chemical pollution in our ecosystems: Armed with bottles of river water and some rather cute looking needle-felt animals, The Rivers Trust joined Fidra and CHEM Trust at Wild Summit 2026 to host an interactive event unveiling the extent of chemical pollution in our ecosystems.
- 22 September 2026: Science: England is rainy again. So why is it still in drought?: Lucy Clarke, Associate Professor of Environmental Resliience at Nottingham Trent University, explains why "rain" and "drought" are not mutually exclusive.
- 22 September 2026: Southern Water fined £2.4m for Kent pollution: It's the Environment Agency's second successful prosecution of the company this year, with other cases going through court.
- 20 September 2026: Town residents demand action over 'eyesore' River Welland: More than 600 people have signed a petition calling on authorities to deal with an "eyesore" section of river in Market Harborough. Residents have raised concerns over potential flood risks due to overgrown vegetation along parts of the River Welland, while others have commented on the state of the river's appearance.
- 17 September 2026: RSPB: Feeding garden birds: how to keep our feathered friends healthy: RSPB have just issued a reminder of their new bird-feeding advice: "Back in April, we updated our advice on feeding garden birds, asking that we all feed seasonally and feed safely. To help tackle disease among garden birds, we advise not feeding seeds or peanuts between 1 May and 31 October. We also recommend cleaning and moving feeders weekly, changing water daily, and not using bird tables or other flat-surfaced feeders".
- 16 September 2026: Stepped up efforts to prevent England remaining in drought by next spring: The government has today urged water companies not to lose momentum and carry on water efficiency measures until the drought is over.
- 16 September 2026: Science: Why most rivers don’t respond to storms the same way twice: The same amount of rain falling on the same landscape at different times can send very different amounts of water into its rivers, according to a new study from hydrologists at the University of British Columbia, published in Nature Water. The research offers a global picture of how catchments behave—not where rivers are or how much water they carry—but how consistently landscapes turn rainfall into river flow.
- 14 September 2026: Thames Water updates plans for new Abingdon (White Horse) reservoir: The (two decades) long-running saga of the giant Abingdon Reservoir continues. The estimated cost of the project has rocketed from £2.2bn to between £5.5bn and £7.5bn after a review last year more than tripled the site to 38 sq km to accommodate extra building works, relocate adjacent solar farms and reroute local rivers and streams. Another HS2 in the offing?
- 8 September 2026: Science: What anglers have taught me about saving England's sharks: Matthew Witt from the University of Exeter explains why putting "anglers and conservation scientists together" gives "sharper insight into how to manage the marine world sustainably".
- 3 September 2026: BBC World Service: Should rivers have personhood?: The topical issue unpicked in a recent radio broadcast with help from Prof Nick Mount (geographer and river scientist), Dr Erin
O’Donnell (author, senior lecturer and ARC research fellow, University of Melbourne Law School, Australia), Pier-Olivier Boudreault (director of conservation for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society), Naveeda Khan (Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA) and others.
More news...
Events in October
October 2026
- 1 October 2026: The Wye Water Summit: The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Cymru is organising The Wye Water Summit on 1 October 2026 on the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells. Following a summer of drought, this forum provides a unique opportunity to discuss the consequences of the recent prolonged hot weather and how to build resilience for the future.
- 15 October 2026: What's polluting the River Char and what can we do about it?: Practical talks with local experts and Friends of Hardown Hill. James Hargreaves Hall, Morcombelake, Dorset DT6 6EA, 7pm.
- 16 October 2026: Ceilidh for Clean Water: Meole Brace School, Shrewsbury, 7-11pm. A benefit event for Up Sewage Creek and Shrewsbury Green Party.
- Saturday 24 October 0 Sunday 1 November: WWT Super Natural: This enchanting seasonal half-term event, running for one week only from invites families to discover the wonders, wildlife and folklore of wetlands through hands-on activities and outdoor adventures.
- 30-31 October: Tweed River Festival, Melrose.
- Throughout October: Thames 21 events: Hands-on London activities this month include "
"Oxleas Woods - Slowing the Flow " (1/10, 21/10, 22/10), "Back in Beck (river restoration)" (7/10,8 8/10, "Dollis Brook Revival" (13/10, 14/10), and more.
- Throughout October: Don Catchment Rivers Trust events: Lots of hands-on practical/restoration/conservation activities.
More events...
Jobs and other opportunities
The closing dates for jobs are in brackets.
Jobs
Trustees and other voluntary posts
Other opportunities
The Rivers Trust has a useful page of current vacancies with the various trusts, including voluntary posts and openings for trustees.
Last updated: 29 September 2026
