Avon River Champions | Protecting our Rivers

Our aim is to restore & maintain the health of our water bodies and rebuild wildlife corridors from Dartmoor to our Estuaries

Clean River | Thriving Wildlife | Sustainable Communities

We connect people who support our aims. Community groups, parish councils, farmers & landowners, businesses and individuals in all parishes in the River Avon catchment - South Brent, North Huish, Diptford, Loddiswell, Aveton Gifford, Bantham & Thurlestone and Bigbury.

We team up with the River Gara & Slapton Ley catchment (Blackawton & Stoke Fleming, East Allington, Slapton) and the Salcombe Kingsbridge Estuary (Kingsbridge Town, West Alvington, Malborough, Slapton, Frogmore & Sherford, Charleton, South Pool, East Portlemouth).

SOUTH HAMS
RIVER REPORT

Find out about the health of all waterways in South Hams and discover more about how this is measured and controlled.

BLUE PRINT
PROJECT

NATURE-BASED
SOLUTIONS

The BLUE Print Project links up volunteers, funding and farmers. Capital infrastructure and Nature-based solutions, identified as essential by farmers, will form part of the next stage 'development plan' after the BLUE Print Project. If you are a farmer in the three BLUE Print catchments, you are warmly invited to express an interest. You will be invited to farmer gatherings to find out more. We look forward to partnering with you.

RIVER
TEAM WORK

Find Out how to keep in touch with all the opportunities to support the work of Avon River Champions and the BLUE Print Project.

This is a positive, community approach to solving our water quality issues in a collaborative way. BLUE Print offers farmers the opportunity to access the financial support and volunteer inputs that will allow them to address all pollution issues they are concerned about.

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Island Assembly
Clean Rivers, Clean Seas

Today, a dynamic group of leading river champions from across Devon will gather at Burgh Island Hotel for the Island Assembly—a summit dedicated to the future of our rivers and seas.
A huge thank you to our generous hosts and sponsors, Giles Fuchs and Niki Fuchs, co-owners of Burgh Island Hotel, for providing such an inspiring venue for this critical gathering. Their support is helping to bring together key voices in the fight for cleaner rivers and seas.
The Island Assembly, jointly organised by Avon River Champions and Bigbury Net Zero, is not another talking shop. It will deliver on the promise made at the AGM for Avon River Champions. 2025 is the year we kick-start a full-on programme to clean up:
• The River Avon
• The River Gara & Slapton Ley
• The Salcombe Kingsbridge Estuary
Successive governments have failed to protect our rivers, and they will likely fail to deliver on their legally binding target for our water bodies to achieve Good Ecological Status by 2027.
🚨 But we won’t let that happen. 🚨
We are holding the line—through new River Water Quality Groups, collaboration, and an ambitious, results-driven approach, we will restore our waters by 2027.
🔹 INSPIRE | INFORM | CONNECT | ACT 🔹

Keynote Speaker
🎤 Monty Halls – Renowned broadcaster, adventurer, and marine biologist. He will inspire us to ‘get ambitious’ and achieve what successive governments have failed to do—restore our waterways before 2027.

Speakers
• Monty Halls – Keynote Speaker
• Louise Wainwright – Avon River Champions & Bigbury Net Zero
• Katrina Walter – Solicitor, World Wildlife Fund
• Guy Singh-Watson – Founder, Riverford Organics
• Cathy Case – Farmer, Deputy Chair, Devon NFU
• Simon Browning – Technical Lead, The Rivers Trust
• Gary Jolliffe – CEO, Force4Nature and Till the Coast is Clear
• Caroline Voaden MP – South Devon Constituency
• Cllr Dan Thomas – SHDC & DCC
• Nick Bruce-White – CEO, Devon Wildlife Trust

We’re all feeling uneasy about the looming rise in water bills. 💸

Yes, the infrastructure is crumbling and desperately needs investment. 🛠️

Yes, we must stop spilling sewage into our rivers—it’s time for real solutions. 🌿

What about those who can’t afford these hikes? 🤔

Pollution doesn’t come from one source alone. It’s agricultural runoff, household waste, and systemic failures. All of it needs to be addressed.

And let’s not forget the regulator, who by their failure to hold water companies accountable has been the architect of this crisis. Or the chronic underfunding of the Environment Agency, which limits its ability to enforce the protections we desperately need. 💔

It's time for the government to step up—with a duty of care to protect our environment, public health, and future. 🌍💧

Demand accountability and a sustainable future. What do you think? 💬👇

#CleanWater #EnvironmentalJustice #ProtectOurRivers #SustainableFuture #Accountability #WaterCrisis

🌊 BREAKING: Official Findings on Environmental Failures 🌊

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has reported serious failures in regulatory oversight concerning environmental law compliance. This matters because our rivers are at risk.

💧 The Avon, like many rivers across the UK, faces increasing pressure from pollution, habitat loss, and inadequate enforcement. The OEP’s findings make one thing clear: action must be taken to hold regulators and polluters accountable.

🌍 What can you do?

💬 Stay informed and share this post.
✍️ Join campaigns demanding better protections for our rivers.
🌱 Support initiatives like Avon River Champions that advocate for cleaner, healthier waterways.
The Avon deserves better. Together, we can protect our rivers for future generations.

🔗 Read more https://www.theoep.org.uk/news/oep-finds-there-have-been-failures-comply-environmental-law-relation-regulatory-oversight
#RiverChampions #SaveOurRivers #EnvironmentalProtection #AvonRiver #OEP #CleanWater

Are you thinking about a dip, paddle, surf or row and wondering about the water quality? The clever folk at @theriverstrust have now updated their interactive sewage map to include near real-time alerts.

After loads and loads of pressure from @surfersagainstsewage, @riveractionuk @theriverstrust and organisations like us, the English water companies now share near real-time Event Discharge Monitoring (EDM) discharge alerts.

This data is available via the Water UK National Storm Overflow Hub, and is also published as layers in ArcGIS Online. They have pulled all of their data into one map. (This data comes directly from the EDMs - discharges have not been verified)

What the map clearly shows is that sewage continues to be pumped into rivers during periods of NO RAIN. We want to know why; is this capacity or failing infrastructure. We are asking these questions right now and want to understand the timescales for sorting this.

This data is invaluable in safeguarding our environment and our health.

#data #datascience #rivers #riverstrust #devon #waterquality

Link here and in bio.
https://theriverstrust.org/key-issues/sewage-in-rivers

Where is your favourite woodland? Maybe somewhere you love to walk, run, sit or paint 🎨 maybe you planted some of the trees 🌳 and love watching them grow. They give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilise the soil and give life to the world’s wildlife. #nationaltreeweek

🚨 Bathing Water Quality in England: Mixed Results 🚨

The number of bathing waters in England rated as poor and unfit for swimming has more than doubled this year, rising from 18 to 37. Out of 450 sites tested for bacteria linked to sewage discharges, 92% met the minimum standards, down slightly from 96% last year.

🌊 Coastal waters performed better, with 95% meeting standards, compared to 53% of rivers and lakes. Experts say saltwater naturally disperses pollutants faster than freshwater.

💬 Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell says despite decades of progress, there’s still much to do to improve inland waters. Meanwhile, River Action CEO James Wallace called the results an “international embarrassment.”

Water companies face mounting criticism and await approval for billions in infrastructure investments to tackle sewage discharges, of which funds come from bill increases.

What do you think needs to change to protect England’s waterways? #bbc #defra #ea #pollution

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avonriverchampions

Clean River | Thriving Wildlife | Sustainable Communities

SOUTH HAMS RIVER REPORT

BLUE PRINT PROJECT

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS

RIVER TEAM WORK