A chalk river or stream is a watercourse that is influenced by chalk bedrock. They are fed primarily by spring water from a chalk aquifer, not surface water, which means they have clear, cold water and very stable flows. They are rich in minerals, which provides an ideal habitat for wildlife such as water voles, brown trout, otters and mayflies.

Out of the 200 chalk streams that can be found in the world, 85% of these are in England, the majority of which can be found right here in Wiltshire, due to the rare yet extensive chalk geology which can be found here. You won’t find streams anywhere else like this in the world, apart from some very small pockets of Northern France.

Wiltshire is home to a globally important chalk stream, the Salisbury Avon, and its tributaries: the Wylye, Nadder, Bourne and Ebble. These crystal clear waters are a precious and quintessential part of the Wiltshire countryside, yet little is legally protected.

Currently, only 11 out of the 220 British chalk streams have any legal protections as a Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The River Kennet is an SSSI, as well as the Salisbury Avon which has protection as an SAC as well. While these existing protections are helping, we need stronger protections specifically designed for our chalk streams.

With just 14% of England’s rivers in good ecological health, Wiltshire’s chalk streams deserve better. Pollution from agriculture, sewage, roads, house-building and single-use plastics all combine to threaten these idyllic habitats.

Over the past year, our Water Team have restored an astonishing 5km of river, and over 70km in total since they started. This included bank regrading work on the Western Arm of the Hampshire Avon, tree planting in the headwaters of the River Wylye, and multiple woody debris projects around the county. These improvements all helped to slow water run-off.

They have also been busy re-meandering the River Were running through our Smallbrook Meadows nature reserve, which will kick-start natural river processes such as sedimentation in the margins and faster flows in the main channel to keep important gravel habitats clean.

Our work at Bay Meadows nature park has restored and enhanced the habitat surrounding the River Og, giving people better access to appreciate and enjoy the sparkling waters. We’ve also made changes in the channel to vary the flow which provides a greater variety of habitat including better conditions for fish spawning.

Our Government says our rivers won’t be healthy until 2063 but we can't wait 40 years to clean them up. We must act now if they are going to stand a chance of recovery while we are still here to see it. We have joined forces with the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to call for a new, pioneering, bespoke protection for all Chalk Streams, as recommended by the Chalk Stream Strategy, to make polluters pay, hold water companies to account and make sure we can rapidly repair our wonderful waterways. Protective designations work; those chalk streams that have designations are in better condition, but even these protections don’t go far enough. If the Government act today, we can secure the future of these iconic British rivers for generations to come.

We’re calling for our MPs to stand up for chalk streams and be part of the movement pushing for protecting these unique habitats locally and nationally. We want the MPs to take the first step by attending the campaign’s parliamentary event in October to come together to discuss how we can secure the future of our streams. But we need your help to show our MPs how special our chalk streams are. Please ask your MP to become a champion for chalk streams to advocate for stronger protections for our chalk streams.