River Severn (c) Steve Bloomfield
There are some things that we can all do to help the River Severn and other water courses throughout the county...
- If you use a septic tank ensure that it is functioning efficiently. During walks of the Bow Brook the Wildlife Trust and Environment Agency have found several failing systems feeding directly into the brook.
- Ensure any oil tank is bunded so that if you do have a leak it cannot enter a water system. Even if you are not directly on a river your drains may lead pollution directly into the waterbody.
- Report any pollution incident to the Environment Agency on their incident hotline 0800 80 70 60
- Phosphates are one of the main reasons watercourses in the River Severn Basin are failing under the Water Framework Directive. Washing and dishwasher powders contain a large amount of phosphates - sewage treatment works do not have to clean them from water unless the plant has a large urban population. Try to use washing powders where phosphates have been replaced with alternatives.
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Don’t litter. (pic shows litter collecting in the River Stour) - If you have cattle/horses/sheep close to the river, please install drinkers with a hard base or fence to reduce pollution in the water.
- A surprisingly large number of households have washing machines/dishwashers etc (often in an extension) that have been mistakenly plumbed into the wrong drain - please make sure your water goes into the dirty/foul water drain and not your surface water run-off (ie where your down pipes go).
- The tributaries of the River Severn suffer from invasive plants, particularly Himalayan Balsam. If you own a stretch of any of our water courses please remove it before it seeds. If you have a pond, please do not transfer plants/fish into brooks as it only takes a small piece of plant to quickly establish itself and threaten native wildlife.
- Please contact Worcestershire Wildlife Trust if you own a stretch of the following brooks: Bow/Shrawley/Dowles/Piddle/Badsey/Leigh as we are working here this year.
- We undertake work on the watercourses around the county on and off reserves, if you are interested in volunteering please get in touch!