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 (9 November 2026).
November 2026
- 6 November 2026: Traffic lights help Scottish salmon as businesses learn to share river water: A traffic light system introduced by the Tay Rivers Trust has now completed its second consecutive year without observed smolt mortality at the weirs located in Blairgowrie. The Trust said the results are particularly striking given that the past two springs have been among the driest in recent decades.
- 6 November 2026: Community Conversations explores the future of Greater Manchester's rivers: Academics in Manchester held an informative discussion about rivers last week, concluding that "caring for rivers is a social responsibility as well as an environmental challenge. The future of rivers raises questions about who benefits from investment, whose knowledge informs decisions and how more people can build a connection with the nature around them".
- 6 November 2026: Don't wash your laundry at teatime: why planning energy use can reduce your bills: Lala Rukh from the University of Galway explains more thoughtful timing of household chores can be as helpful as using less energy overall.
- 6 November 2026: Meet the doctoral student researching the legal personhood of rivers: What does it mean for a river to be considered a person? Ask Raffaele Sindoni, a Yale University student exploring the background to the New Zealand government's historic decision to grant the Whanganui River legal personhood.
- 6 November 2026: Catchment partnerships are key: Rivers Trust: The Rivers Trust has welcomed the UK Government's announcement that new Regional Water Councils are being established to help manage England's water system, but says established local Catchment Partnerships must play a leading role to ensure regional water planning reflects local needs and priorities.
- 6 November 2026: Celebrate Yorkshire's Rivers and Wildlife... with YDRT's 2027 Calendar: Yes, it's calendar time again and if you'd like to buy yours in a way that benefits rivers, look no further than Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust: "Following the success of our Rivers4Life Photography Competition, we're delighted to announce that the Rivers4Life 2027 calendar is now available to purchase for just £10! Featuring all 12 winning photographs, the calendar showcases the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales rivers, landscape and wildlife through the changing seasons - a wonderful way to celebrate our rivers and support our work".
- 5 November 2026: South West Water's failure to fix leaks 'putting customer supplies at risk': Repeated failures by South West Water to tackle leaks are putting customers at higher risks of losing water supplies as parts of the region remain in severe drought, regulators have said. In a warning to the privatised company that serves 1.8 million people across the south-west of England, the regulators said it had been failing to meet targets to reduce leaks and repair burst pipes for seven years.
- 5 November 2026: Rivers at risk: New WildFish drought report highlights England’s failing water system: WildFish today published a new report which examines England's preparedness to deal with drought and explores the environmental consequences of failing to strengthen our water security. The report, England is Still Not Prepared for Drought, comes as the country's water system enters a period of unprecedented pressure. Drawing on 50 years of precipitation data (since the 1976 drought), the report finds that England's water security problem is not a shortage of rainfall. It is a problem of storage, infrastructure and demand and one that will have potentially devastating consequences for our already vulnerable wild fish populations.
- 5 November 2026: Burnham promises "a real say" in "cleaning up polluted rivers, building new reservoirs... [and] protecting homes from floods: A new announcement from Defra this week: "Communities across England will get a bigger say over how water companies invest in their area under plans to put more power in local hands. Eight new regional water councils will bring local leaders, customers and businesses together to set the priorities for their region, helping shape billions of pounds of investment in water and flood infrastructure."
- 4 November 2026: 'Floating tractors' clean up weed-choked waterways: The Canal and River Trust is spending more than £150,000 to use machines called Truxors to remove aquatic weeds like duckweed, floating pennywort and azolla, which when left unchecked can cause problems for boats.
- 4 November 2026: Inverclyde residents urged to have say on River Clyde plans: The Clyde Marine Planning Partnership (CMPP) has launched a public consultation on its draft Clyde Regional Marine Plan, which aims to protect the marine environment while supporting businesses and communities that depend on it.
- 4 November 2026: How the Angling Trust is putting fishing firmly on the political agenda: For Angling News this week, Angling Trust CEO Jamie Cook reveals how the governing body is fighting across party lines to protect our rivers, tackle drought resilience, and combat cormorant predation.
- 4 November 2026: Worldview: How a scientist went from hero to traitor in a US water crisis: When the water in Flint, Michigan, became contaminated with dangerous levels of lead, Dr Siddhartha Roy, then a third year PhD student, was part of the team of scientists who publicly contradicted state and federal claims that it was safe.
- 4 November 2026: BART welcomes river rights: A cautious welcome for river rights from Bristol comes with an important caveat: "We also recognise that the creation of new legal rights for rivers raises complex questions around representation, evidence, accountability, land ownership, water use and the balance between competing interests. BART therefore supports continued exploration and debate around the potential role of legal Rights of Rivers, while recognising that this should not be viewed as a single solution to the challenges facing our rivers".
- 4 November 2026: More than 50,000 people tell Google to 'search elsewhere' and spare nature: A petition with almost 55,000 signatures was handed into Google's flagship London office today, calling on it to withdraw controversial data centre plans for an Essex Local Wildlife Site, but they refused to accept it. Google’s proposed Thurrock Data Centre campus would destroy much of the 52-hectare Arena Essex Local Wildlife Site, which is home to hundreds of species of invertebrate, including the Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) and Dingy Skipper butterfly (Erynnis tages), Red Listed Nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) and Endangered Broad-leaved Cudweed (Filago pyramidata).
- 3 November 2026: Reopening the River Sid: From the River Sid Catchment Group, an update on their Opening the Sid Project: a long term project that works towards opening the river for migratory fish so that they can move freely through the river system and access optimum habitats needed for different stages of their lives.
- 3 November 2026: Paddle UK Urges MPs to act as water companies continue to fail on pollution: Paddle UK is calling on MPs to back ambitious reform of the water sector after the latest Environment Agency assessment revealed that eight of England’s nine major water and sewerage companies are failing to meet expected environmental performance standards.
- 3 November 2026: PFAS: Major study into 'forever chemicals' in UK population: The government is launching its first study into the levels of so-called 'forever chemicals' in the UK population. By taking blood and urine samples, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) hopes to gain a better understanding of any potential health risks caused by the substances also known as PFAS, as well as other potential contaminants like lead and arsenic.
- 3 November 2026: Rare damselfly spotted by Hertford's restored River Ash: An endangered damselfly has been spotted in wetlands created by an "ambitious" project that restored a stretch of a rare chalk river. The scarce blue-tailed damselfly, one of the world's earliest flying insects, was recorded alongside the River Ash near Hertford.
- 3 November 2026: Rivers Trust: State of Our Rivers... now in maps!: The third edition of the "State of Our Rivers Report", published in October 2026, is a bumper edition. It is packed with the latest information on the pressures faced by rivers in the UK and Ireland, the symptoms they are displaying, and hopeful stories which illustrate the positive power of local action... aided, of course, by a suite of interactive maps. It's a digital feast for decision-makers, conservationists, nature lovers, and anyone curious to learn more about the health of their local river.
- 2 November 2026: Greenpeace activists drop boulders to protect porpoises from bottom trawling: Coinciding with the nationwide premiere of Blue Planet III this weekend, activists have placed giant boulders on the seabed in the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) to form an underwater barrier that stops a destructive fishing method known as bottom trawling.
- 2 November 2026: Friends of the Wye wrestles chicken in Westminster: On Monday 19 October, Friends of the River Wye travelled to London alongside campaigners and communities affected by factory farming to demand that the government stops ignoring the damage industrial agriculture is causing to our rivers and reconsiders its Poultry Growth Plan: "There are over 20 million chickens in the Wye catchment - that’s totally out of balance with the surrounding eco-system. 20 million birds create far more muck than the surrounding land can absorb. Way too much chicken manure has been spread on the land around the River Wye for decades - which means we now have a legacy problem, with our soils overloaded with nutrients, which leaches out every time it rains".
- 2 November 2026: Save the Swale's October update: A busy old month for Yorkshire's Save the Swale: their latest update includes progress on Richmond's bathing water, Yorkshire Water's environmental downgrade and the departure of CEO Nicola Shaw, lobbying in Parliament, the York Environmental Festival, and much more.
- 2 November 2026: What does a community Water Champion do?: Sam Austin, who has recently taken on the role at Western Sussex Rivers Trust, explains how "how working alongside local communities can bring real improvements to our local rivers".
October 2026
- 29 October 2026: Norfolk Rivers Trust questions Environmental Delivery Plan: This week's polite (but still quite stinging) response from Norfolk Rivers Trust is another blow to English Nature's proposed EDP: "We are unconvinced the draft plan demonstrates that its proposed measures will meaningfully offset or outweigh the negative effects... the plan lacks clarity on how the full extent of environmental pressures from development will be addressed, how quickly the proposed measures will take effect, and how success will be measured".
- 28 October 2026: Working with One Water to Restore Rivers in Shropshire: Severn Rivers Trust explains a new partnership with One Water to support river restoration at Norbury in Shropshire. "Naturalising Norbury is a river and floodplain restoration project in Shropshire’s upper Onny catchment, part of the wider Severn catchment. Over the last couple of months, we have delivered the main restoration works within the approximately 12.5-hectare project area, with native planting to follow later this winter."
More news...
Events in November
November 2026
- 11 November 2026: River Beane Restoration Association: Open Meeting: "We’ll briefly look back at the past 12 months of RBRA activity, including an update on the Flagship Restoration Project, share the results of our water vole surveys, celebrate our volunteers’ efforts, and enjoy a chat and conversation during a coffee break. Our keynote speaker for the evening is Sarah Perry, from the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust".
- 18-19 November 2026: Friends of the Dart (Devon) Online householder event: helping the Dart from home: "We invite you to an evening of information sharing on the current health of our River Dart and actions each of us can take to make a real difference. Some of what harms the river starts in ordinary homes like yours and ours; the sink, the loo, the drive, the dog... And all of it is so easy to change!"
- 19 November 2026: Sustainable Water Systems, Shrewsbury: A talk by Larry Wolfe on SUDS techniques organized by Up Sewage Creek, Shrewsbury.
- 28 November 2026: Action for the River Kennet: Harvest Mouse Surveying: "Volunteer and help us survey Stonebridge Wild River Reserve for harvest mice". Marlborough, 10am-3pm. Booking needed (contact Anna Forbes, ARK).
- Throughout November: Thames 21 events: Hands-on London activities this month include "
"Back in Beck – River Restoration Project" (10/11, 11/11), "Action for Silk Stream – River Action Day" (26/11), and more.
- Throughout November: Don Catchment Rivers Trust events: Lots of hands-on practical/restoration/conservation activities.
- Throughout November: Ribble Rivers Trust events: Tree planting and woodland aftercare at Runley Mill, Settle; Vegetation management at Primrose Lodge.
- Throughout November: Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust (Sussex): Leaky barrier building on Adur tributaries, Chalk stream restoration on the Lewes Winterbourne and Hedge laying in Sompting. Various activites on 11, 13, 20, 23 November. Contact Alistair Whitby at OART for more details.
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: 8 November 2026
