A new study warns of pollution in English chalk streams
May 24, 2016
A new research study has found that almost all of England’s 200 chalk streams are in a “dismal state of decline” as the result of what the Sunday Times newspaper described as "a lethal cocktail of pollutants", including poorly treated sewage.
The 2015 Riverfly Census, undertaken by Salmon & Trout Conservation UK (S&TC UK) has identified that there were only 14 pristine, unimpacted sites out of a total of 120 sites sampled in the survey on chalk streams and rivers across England.
According to the fisheries charity, the threat to rivers has moved from industrial pollution to a range of subtler but equally damaging impacts from sources such as agricultural and road run-off, poorly treated sewage, septic tanks and discharges from watercress and fish farms.
Dr Nick Everall from Aquascience Consultancy, the organisation which carried out the survey, commented:
“The national river survey showed a mixture of improving, stable and all too many sadly declining reaches in terms of overall ecological condition, environmental stresses and riverfly life in particular. Several rivers showed loss of condition with measures like mayfly species richness and freshwater shrimp population status over time.
You can read the full report here.
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