River Action

🌊Water Company accountability 🌊

A big win for water company transparency!

@exetercouncil.bsky.social adopted Friends of the Dart’s Transparency Template, holding South West Water accountable and championing cleaner rivers across Devon.

🔗- cornworthyparishcouncil.gov.uk/friends-of-t...

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River Avon at Pershore twins with Nene in UK’s first Sister Rivers project On World Rivers Day (September 28), Pershore Town Council formed a partnership with Thrapston Town Council launching the UK’s Sister Rivers Initiative.

👭 The UK's first sister rivers partnership 👭

Pershore and Thrapston launched the UK’s first Sister Rivers partnership, uniting the Avon and Nene.

Communities across the two towns are coming together to monitor, protect, and restore their rivers.

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Thetford river group calls for legal action over foam pollution The Thetford River Group, which monitors the chalk stream, says the short term impact has been huge.

⚔️ The River Thet is under threat ⚔️

Featured on BBC news, Thetford River Group called for legal action after thick white foam polluted the River Thet for the second time this year, devastating wildlife and alarming the community. 😳

bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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🛡️ River Guardianship 🛡️

At Sheepdrove Organic Farm, @lawyersfornature.bsky.social brought together over 50 river guardians, lawyers, and ecologists for an inspiring summit celebrating community action, shared wisdom, and the growing movement for the Rights of Rivers.

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🚶‍♀️ VoW Pilgrimage 🚶‍♀️

Emmeline, the founder of The Voices of Water Foundation, completed a 900-mile pilgrimage across the UK finishing her journey on the River Thames. 😲

Her journey champions her petition to grant rivers legal personhood.

You can sign her petition here 👉http://bit.ly/4ojNKcK

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🧪 Communities and Contamination 🧪

@leighday.bsky.social's ‘Communities and Contamination’ panel united scientists, lawyers, and activists to confront the threat of forever chemicals, share research and lived experiences, and inspire collective action against chemical pollution. 🙏

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🗞️ Community News - October 🗞️

October's highlights include:

🚶‍♀️ A 900-mile pilgrimage for river rights
⚖️ Lawyers and activists uniting to take on the threats of chemical pollution to our rivers
🏘️Towns partnering together aiming to turn the tide on river pollution

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A great article in The Times this morning, putting the spotlight on the recently banned Red Tractor ad & proving that even “trusted” food labels aren’t immune to greenwash.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your supermarket TODAY & tell them to to call out Red Tractor: 👉 bit.ly/4nPC3Ko

#UpYourStandards

A WIN FOR CHALK STREAMS 🙌

The House of Lords has voted to include chalk stream protections in the Planning Bill!

⚠️ But it's not a done deal. MPs could still scrap the amendment when the Bill returns to the Commons.

👉 Act now: write to your MP & urge them to support chalk stream protections!

River Rescue Kit - River Action: River Rescue Kit The River Rescue Kit All of the resources you need to take action in one place. Ready to take your action to the next level? Take a look at the make an impact page to make the most of your actions. ...

🙏 Big thanks goes to Sue George and Paul Vignaux of the Test and Itchen Association for helping write the blog 💙

Feeling inspired?

If you would like to learn more about how you can protect your local river, check out our River Rescue Kit 👇

kit.riveractionuk.com/river-rescue...

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Key Solutions 🧐

💪 Recognise chalk streams as irreplaceable habitats

⏩ Fast-track new reservoirs and water recycling projects to ease pressure on the river.

💩 Improve or relocate treatment works harming salmon migration.

🚜 Help farmers reduce runoff and restore soil and water health.

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🛡️(2/2)

The Friends of the Itchen Estuary are a community engagement group for the Itchen which are:

⭐️Testing for E. coli
⭐️ Exposing continuous sewage discharges from the Portswood Wastewater Treatment Works
⭐️Helping shape a River Charter

Find out more 👉 facebook.com/groups/16195...

The River Guardians 🛡️(1/2)

The Test & Itchen Association brings together the local community to:

⭐️Citizen science
⭐️Campaign for stronger action from water companies, government and local authorities
⭐️Take on polluters and bad planning proposals

Find our more 🔗 - test-itchen.com

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a man with a mustache is wearing a white shirt and a blue sweater . ALT: a man with a mustache is wearing a white shirt and a blue sweater .

Key challenges ⚔️

The Itchen faces a tide of threats:

💩 3,927 hours of sewage spills last year

🧪 Chemical & pesticide pollution

🚜 Agricultural - Adds pollutants, nutrients and fine sediments that smother spawning gravels

💧 Over-abstraction

🔥 Climate change causing prolonged dry periods

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a man in a suit and tie looks surprised ALT: a man in a suit and tie looks surprised

Did you know? 🤓

1️⃣) There’s evidence that the River Itchen supported agricultural settlements from the Neolithic period (up to 4000 BC) .

2️⃣) In Roman times, engineers diverted its flow to serve the city of Winchester.

3️⃣) Salmon have swum in its waters for tens of thousands of years!

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What makes it special? 🌟

The Itchen is globally famous for its fly-fishing heritage 🎣

It is also one of the main 6 chalk rivers in England that create the conditions needed by the endangered Atlantic Salmon to spawn and grow before heading out to sea within the year. 🐟

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River of the Month - The River Itchen - River Action: River Rescue Kit Welcome to River of the Month! Every month, we spotlight a different river, sharing its wonders, its challenges, and the incredible people fighting to protect it. This month is… The River Itchen   By ...

September's RIVER OF THE MONTH is…… The River Itchen 🎉

Flowing through the heart of Hampshire, the River Itchen is one of the world’s rare chalk streams and is home to the endangered Atlantic Salmon. 🐟

But this iconic river is in trouble.... 🧵👇

🔗- kit.riveractionuk.com/rotm-the-riv...

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⚠️Thames Water needs urgent action – public needs to know what comes next.👇

An exclusive in today’s Daily Express, written by Dr Samir Seddougui - River Action’s Campaigns Analyst.

👉READ MORE: riveractionuk.com/news/project...

#EndSewagePollution #RescueBritainsRivers

England's water companies get worst ever score over pollution Thames Water - the UK's largest water company - was given the lowest one-star rating.

⚠️ Today's report exposes the bankruptcy of the privatised water model.

📢 We urgently need an overhaul of this failed system to ensure our rivers are protected.

👉 Only when regulation is credible & profit no longer comes before people & nature, will our rivers recover.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

.. Only when regulation is credible, enforcement is consistent, and profit is no longer prioritised over public health and the natural world, will our rivers begin to recover. #RescueBritainsRivers #SewageScandal

🚨 BREAKING NEWS: The Environment Agency's latest data paints a grim picture for our rivers. 😡👇

Enough is ENOUGH. The failed privatisation experiment must end. Water companies should serve the public, not private profit - delivering clean water, healthy rivers, & reliable service..🧵

Proposed pollution fines are little more than 'pocket change' for billion-pound water firms, campaigners warn NEWLY proposed pollution fines would amount to little more than “pocket change” for water firms whose profits run to billions, environmental campaigners have warned.The government launched a consultat...

#RiverAction @riveractionuk.bsky.social CEO James Wallace warned that fines of £500,000 are “pocket change” to billion-pound companies like #ThamesWater

#WaterPollution

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/prop...

New fines proposed for water firms committing smaller environmental offences Government plans to hand more powers to the Environment Agency to penalise water companies for minor rule-breaking are now under consultation.

"Government must end the failed privatisation model of criminal polluters like Thames Water"
@riveractionuk.bsky.social

“Anything short of changing the ownership model of our broken water industry is a hollow gesture"
@sascampaigns.bsky.social

💯

www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...

Fining firms for sewage spills will get 'quicker and easier', says government The plans would see automatic fines for some offences and the burden of proof lowered for others.

“Quicker and easier" fines won’t clean up our rivers.💩

£500,000 fines are pocket change to billion-pound polluters like Thames Water. 😡 💷

It’s time for the government to END the failed privatisation model & bring in real reform. #RescueBritainsRivers

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

📢 Supermarkets - up your standards!

⚠️Big-name supermarkets use the Red Tractor logo to reassure shoppers of environmental protection — but rivers are still being polluted.

✉️TAKE ACTION - Tell your supermarket to call out Red Tractor, today! 👉 bit.ly/42G6YQV

Home - Up Your Standards! Contact your supermarket today to tell them to call out Red Tractor, and pave the way for robust environmental standards on their products.

Is your supermarket using the Red Tractor to reassure its customers? 🏷️ 👀

We're helping @riveractionuk.bsky.social to expose the muck behind the mark - and it stinks!

Tell your supermarket to call out Red Tractor & enforce real standards: 👉 upyourstandards.riveractionuk.com?utm_source=I...

Red Tractor's #greenwash has been exposed.

Will supermarkets face reality - or cling to a broken system until public trust collapses? - @charleswatson.bsky.social

READ MORE 👉 riveractionuk.com/news/its-tim...

TAKE ACTION - email your supermarket, today!
👉 bit.ly/3J5PhDP

At today’s @blueearthsummit.bsky.social, our CEO James Wallace spoke with Sir Steve Regrave about how we can go 'beyond the finish line' and build a long-term vision for the health of our rivers. 📈💧

As Steve said: “We need a plan for our rivers that lasts beyond our 5 year-long political cycles.”

Behind the Red Tractor logo lies a dirty truth. 🔎💩

⚠️ A whopping 60% of Red Tractor assured farms inspected by the Environment Agency identified at least one breach of environmental regulations.

The #greenwash has been exposed - tell your supermarket to call out Red Tractor today! 👉 bit.ly/42G6YQV

Home - Up Your Standards! Contact your supermarket today to tell them to call out Red Tractor, and pave the way for robust environmental standards on their products.

If supermarkets keep backing Red Tractor, they’re part of the problem. 🚜❌

Hold them to account by sending an email demanding they pave the way for robust environmental standards on their products. (only takes 30 seconds). 👇

✍️- upyourstandards.riveractionuk.com?utm_source=T...