The invisible threat
Nick Measham, director of WildFish, highlights the issues facing the UK’s precious chalkstreams and calls for your support
The upper River Itchen, Hampshire, Southern England.
CHALKSTREAMS are confined to a band of chalk heading north-east from France, through England and to Denmark. These are the only places in the world where chalk rock appears at the surface in any magnitude. Rain percolates through the chalk to create an aquifer (a giant underground water store) and is then regurgitated in a mosaic of springs which combine to form the streams which, in their natural state, have relatively stable flows and water temperature.
These chalkstreams and rivers are as internationally rare and ecologically important as coral reefs or rainforests. Over 85 per cent of the world’s chalkstreams are found in England — something like 200 of them — ranging from small streams like the Bourne Rivulet to the bigger Hampshire Avon, Test and Itchen.
The cool, stable-flowing, nutrient-rich, alkaline water supports an amazing ecological array of life — rare weeds, invertebrates and fish including a genetically unique species of Atlantic Salmon dubbed Salmo salar calcariensis. These endangered fish have been swimming into the Test, Itchen, Meon, Avon and a few other rivers since before the last ice age — the ice sheets not extending so far south. This makes them probably the longest-surviving salmon species in the UK.
A Upper Itchen trout threatened by abstraction and pollution.
Chalkstreams are also in some of the most densely populated parts of the UK
So, what’s the problem?
Chalkstreams, and the fish that inhabit them, are on the front line of the environmental crisis, facing increasing threats from abstraction of water and river pollution — mostly from sewage and agriculture — all of which is exacerbated by climate change, increasing temperatures and a lack of infrastructure and mitigation. And the agriculture is not just on land: these rivers are used to grow watercress and wash prepared salad leaves.
They have the misfortune to be in some of the most hospitable parts of the UK. Some of the earliest settlements in England were attracted by plentiful clean water and so it continues to this day. Chalkstreams are also in some of the most densely populated parts of the UK.
Environmental damage occurs due to a lack of effective regulation and a failure by the government to admit the extent of the problem.
You might have thought that these rare, fragile habitats would be protected by draconian environmental laws zealously enforced by tough-minded regulators, but you would be wrong, at least in part:
- The laws mostly exist to protect the streams but are simply not applied or not applied widely enough.
- There is a green light for abstraction based on flow calculations without a proper regard for the aquifer’s capacity to support the river’s natural flow.
- There is insufficient monitoring of these rivers by the Environment Agency (EA).
- The highest form of environmental protection under the Habitats Regulations, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), is conferred on only five chalkstreams — the Dorset Frome, the Hampshire Avon, the Itchen, the Lambourn (in the south) and the Wensum (Norfolk). Even on these rivers not enough is done to protect them from the twin threats of abstraction and pollution. Elsewhere the situation is much worse.
- There is little or no linking up between proposed new development and the capacity of the water companies to supply water or treat sewage. Instead, the water industry relies heavily on these already vulnerable rivers.
In short, water companies like taking drinking water from these rivers. It is a cheap and easy solution but the pressure from abstraction is, in many cases, sucking these rivers dry. And worse still, the resulting reduced flows exacerbate the impact of sewage and agricultural pollution. Essentially, there has been a massive failure to invest in alternative sources of water and in sewage treatment, and to enforce agricultural regulations.
Chalkstreams need our protection
William Daniel of Famous Fishing and Nick Measham, director of WildFish discuss what must be done to safeguard these hallowed waters.
WildFish is calling for...
1. All chalkstreams to be made SACs. This will mean any planned development must be assessed to consider its impact and will only proceed if the river is not harmed. The Environment Agency must also review discharge permits and abstraction licences to ensure protection of the river. In practice, this will result in less water being pumped out and cleaner sewage being pumped in. These changes should be paid for by the water companies.
2. The EA to change the way it assesses the health of chalkstreams. The current Water Framework Directive’s one-size-fits-all approach sets too low a “bar” for chalkstreams. The result is that vital investments to cut abstraction or improve sewage are ruled out.
3. The EA to change the way it measures the capacity of chalkstreams and the underlying aquifers to be abstracted to take account of the aquifer’s ability to support the abstraction.
4. Review the planning process to ensure that development only takes place when there is proper capacity to supply drinking water (water neutrality) and treat sewage.
5. The EA to take account of WildFish’s SmartRivers’ citizen-science data in the absence of its own monitoring to assess river health. Our data shows worrying declines versus much out-of-date official data.
6. Revision of salad washing permits — including at Vitacress’s factory on the Bourne Rivulet — to prevent discharge of harmful chemicals washed off salad leaves.
William Daniel ponders over fly choice, while deep down his thoughts are focussed on fighting polluters.
We are now campaigning to stop Vitacress discharging its chemical waste into the Bourne Rivulet
We do make a difference
WildFish has a long history of chalkstream action. Our monitoring evidence and campaigning persuaded the Environment Agency to reduce the amount of phosphate fertilizer watercress farmers could use on the Itchen and Test (including the Bourne Rivulet).
We also helped force Bakkavor’s salad factory to stop discharging chemicals washed off salads into the river Itchen — rather than clean up, Bakkavor closed its factory. We are now campaigning to stop Vitacress discharging its chemical waste into the Bourne Rivulet amongst our other efforts to reduce abstraction and pollution.
You can support chalkstream recovery too
We are also raising money to support genetic research into chalkstream salmon. This is vital scientific evidence that will give these vulnerable fish the recognition they deserve and drive protection for these important chalkstream habitats.
Chalkstream recovery is a shared responsibility. Here are other ways that you can help safeguard the future of these vital ecosystems and the wild fish they support:
- Subscribe to WildFish: follow this link to subscribe and receive regular updates from WildFish with the latest news and information about our work to protect wild fish and their habitats.
- Donate: Click here to donate if you can and support our vital work. We rely on independent funding and take no government or polluter money, so your donation really does make a difference.
- Find out more: Visit the WildFish website (linked here) to learn more about our work to combat abstraction, barriers, planning and chemicals — all relevant to protecting chalkstream fish and their wider ecology.
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY: ALI PARKIN
