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Support our Big Green Match Fund crowdfunder

Data collection and analysis are vital in the fight for healthier rivers. Right now, your support can go twice as far, as donations are currently being doubled! Help us gather stronger evidence to influence policy and legislative change, and hold polluters to account.

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The river Wye

Wild, healthy, natural rivers, valued by all.

Healthy rivers are essential to human life, they provide us with drinking water, they water our crops, they are home to important species of wildlife, they provide recreational spaces for our health and wellbeing.

Make a difference
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A man testing water quality using sampling kit people planting a wetland

0% good overall health

0%

of all rivers in England and Northern Ireland are classed as 'good overall'.

Natural barriers

99%

of British rivers have artificial barriers obstructing migrating fish

Species decline

83%

decline in freshwater species globally since 1970

1% of the earth

1%

of the earth's surface is made up of freshwater ecosystems, yet they provide habitat for 100,000+ species

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See what you can do to save rivers and help communities thrive.

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Get informed

The camera bisects the surface of the water, with river plants shown below and a person walking along the bank above

State of Our Rivers

The race to climate resilience will be won or lost on rivers – and right now we’re losing.

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A CSO with wetwipes clinging to the bars

Raw sewage in our rivers

Sewage is discharged into rivers across the UK and Ireland on a daily basis. This isn’t an isolated problem; it occurs up and down the country, affecting urban city centre rivers and pristine chalk streams alike.

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Key issues

Explore the major threats that our rivers are facing, get clued up on the latest facts, figures and data available, and source some useful resources that can help rivers thrive.

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Take action

Whether you can’t wait to get your hands dirty while cleaning up rivers, or you’d rather support us from the comfort of your own home, there are lots of ways you can support our work to restore rivers.

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Latest news

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Water bill rises & Defra’s water company announcements

  • The Rivers Trust

Today could represent a much-needed turning point for the water industry, but it is one step in a longer journey.

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Is a river alive

Is A River Alive? A word from Robert Macfarlane

  • The Rivers Trust

This week marks the release of Robert MacFarlane’s highly anticipated latest book, Is a River Alive? Passionate about the health of our waterways and the actions we can, and need, to take to restore them, Robert pens his thoughts on the Big River Watch after surveying his local river and the importance of connecting with the beauty of rivers.

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Stock image of a rocky river flowing through mountains with cloudy sky

Independent Water Commission: Our call to restore rivers

  • Rebecca Duncan

Read about how The Rivers Trust has contributed to the Independent Water Commission, and what we want to see to improve our rivers.

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Draining sewage from pipe into river pollution rivers

Unpacking the 2024 Annual Sewage Spill Data

  • The Rivers Trust
  • News

This week, the summaries of the 2024 event duration monitoring on CSOs in England and Wales were released. Our technical experts dug into the data on raw sewage spills into our rivers so you don’t have to — and it’s not good news.

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