Rivers & waterways
What are the challenges?
Kent’s rivers and waterways face significant threats from physical modifications, climate change, and pollution:
Reduced water flow and rising temperatures lead to deoxygenation, harming fish, invertebrates, and aquatic plants.
Changing rainfall patterns alter river flows, increasing flood risks and stressing freshwater species.
Pollution from agriculture, urban runoff, and wastewater—particularly nitrates and phosphorus—degrades water quality.
The River Medway is contaminated with toxic chemicals that endanger aquatic life and pose health risks, including cancer and respiratory issues.
Why it matters:
Rivers and groundwater supply drinking water and sustain ecosystems.
Waterways provide vital habitats for fish, invertebrates, and plants, including critically endangered species like the European eel
Healthy rivers enhance freshwater carbon storage and mitigate flooding.
Kent hosts many of the world’s chalk streams. As water emerges from the chalk aquifer it is very mineral rich and remains at a fairly constant temperature, encouraging diverse aquatic plants and invertebrates.
When well managed and healthy, this habitat achieves the following:
Reversing Biodiversity Loss
Habitat for rare or endangered species
Cultural Heritage
Water Quality
Flood Mitigation & Climate Change Resilience
Connecting People to Nature
Supports pollinators & food production
Nature Based Solutions:
Re-naturalising river and stream channels and restoring riparian habitats with native vegetation
Reducing pollution at the source to improve water quality and ecosystem resilience.
Statistics & Facts:
79% of rivers and lakes in Kent fail phosphorus standards under the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
Nearly 60% of Kent is designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones due to agricultural pollution.
77% of groundwater bodies in Kent failed to meet the required chemical standards in 2019.
Only 200 chalk rivers are known globally, 85% of which are found in the UK in southern and eastern England.
European eels, critically endangered, face migration barriers in rivers like the Medway, reducing their populations.
Key Species:
Yellow Water-lily (Nuphar lutea) – A vital indicator of a healthy aquatic ecosystem.
European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) – A critically endangered species that relies on unobstructed waterways to complete its migration from the Sargasso Sea to European rivers, including the Medway River.
