How to Help Keep Our Rivers Clean
The main hazards to wildlife (swans, otters, kingfishers and endangered water voles) are lack of habitat, litter, pollution and raw sewage.
Although it’s true that some issues are due to invasive creatures, it’s important to note that this was not their fault. Mink escaped from being imported for the fur industry. And American signal crayfish were imported for restaurants.
Rivers provide us with fresh drinking water (through natural filters of ‘chalk streams’ for people and farmers). Chalk streams are quite rare (around 200 mostly in England, and a few in France).
Everyone can help keep rivers clean and safe:
- Take litter home with you: Don’t leave rubbish on walks or picnics.
- Use microfibre filters: Fit these to your washing machine.
- Use organic gardening and farming: Avoid pesticides and harsh chemicals that can wash into rivers.
Choose biodegradable beauty, cleaning and laundry brands. If you use essential oils, only use a tiny amount (in reputable brands) and avoid scented products for pregnancy/nursing and if cleaning/laundering near babies or pets.
Volunteer to Clean Up Rivers
You can become a volunteer with The Rivers Trust to help keep our rivers free from litter and pollution. Not just removing plastic and litter, but also removing ‘fish barriers’ to let them swim freely in rivers, and water quality testing.
Improve Septic Tanks
Around half a million homes in the UK don’t connect to water company sewage networks. So it’s their responsibility to treat their own sewage. Septic tanks are not on the public register, so it’s vital they don’t pollute rural areas.
Boycott Forever Chemicals
These are found in everything from rainwear to pizza boxes to firefighting foams. You can’t boycott all the items containing them, but you can for some. Read our post on reasons to boycott forever chemicals.
Take Your Fishing Waste With You
Whether you agree with it or not, millions of people in England go fishing. If you’re an angler, use a mono-master (buy online here) which is a nifty little device to safely keep fishing tackle on your person, until you deposit it in a fishing line recycling bin.
Also respect the voluntary ban on lead shot (not yet compulsory), which harms hundreds of thousands of wildfowl each year.
Fix Drain Misconnections
Modern homes have two sewers (one for surface water, and one for wastewater). But an estimated 150,000 to 500,000 households have (illegal) drain misconnections, which leads to untreated wastewater going into our rivers.
It’s the property owner’s responsibility to fix drain misconnections. This is not covered by insurance, so you’ll have to find a good affordable plumber.
