Putting Rivers First: Thames21’s Response to Defra’s Water White Paper

Published

On January 20, the Government published its Water White Paper, described as a “once-in-a-generation overhaul”. While we welcome the commitment to a stronger regulator and increased oversight, we think that the White Paper does not go far enough to protect and restore our rivers.  

Thames21 is an environmental charity that works to transform London and the Thames Basin into a healthier, more climate-resilient region with rivers that everyone can enjoy. Real reform must focus on improvement to rivers themselves, greater local government level involvement through increased planning policy changes and implementation, and not just water companies. 

We support the positive measures in the White Paper: 

  • A new Water Ombudsman and stronger complaints mechanisms 
  • Ending operator self-monitoring, publishing real-time public data, introducing third-party assurance, and intelligence-led inspections 
  • Strengthened local planning controls and government accountability are essential to addressing water company misconnections and deteriorating infrastructure 
  • A cross-industry approach to deliver effective policy change and tackle both water quality issues and flood risks 
  • A commitment to better access to rivers – recognising that trust is rebuilt when communities actively engage through volunteering, co-design, and monitoring, fostering long-term river stewardship. 

Our key concerns are: 

  • Rivers must be at the heart of reform.  Healthy rivers are essential for biodiversity, communities, and climate/ flood resilience. They should have legally binding ecological targets and buffers and not simply be water company performance benchmarks. 
  •  Citizen science is overlooked – how is community involvement considered: Despite its vital role in  identifying and monitoring pollution sources and restoring polluted areas, , the White Paper omits mention of citizen science which is and continues to be a critical workforce in supporting evidence gathering and river impact management. Thames21’s work on citizen-science initiatives, including the Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative (CaSTCo) network and a Citizen Science Dashboard leads us to recommend integrating community monitoring into regulatory systems via open data frameworks.  This approach continues to be supported by regulatory agencies. 
  • Diffuse pollution remains under-addressed:  water company asset failure, misconnections, road runoff and agricultural nutrients and chemicals all degrade rivers. Addressing these requires integrated catchment‑based planning supported by independent regional bodies which include NGO representation. 
  •  An explicit commitment to long-term market-based investment in nature-based solutions is essential. Restoring wetlands, reconnecting floodplains, and improving soils must be treated as essential infrastructure, central to tackling pollution, reducing flood risk and building resilience to the changing climate.  Long-term funding is needed if these solutions are to deliver benefits at scale. 
  • Stronger commitments are needed on chemical pollution and emerging contaminant regulation such as PFAS (forever chemicals), agricultural chemicals and microplastics, which pose risks to public health and the environment. 

Thames21 calls on the Government to: 

  • Set legally binding targets for river and ecosystem health 
  • Substantially increase investment in community-led catchment partnerships, nature-based solutions, and citizen science 
  • Integrate citizen monitoring into regulatory systems via open data frameworks. 
  • Implement cross-government measures to reduce pollution from all sources, including urban and agricultural runoff 
  • Commit to tackling chemical pollution and emerging contaminants, including forever chemicals and microplastics. 
  • Ensure integrated regional planning with NGO representation and embed Catchment Partnerships as a core part of local delivery. 

Rivers are living systems, not just infrastructure. Thames21 will continue to work with communities, partners, and policymakers to ensure London’s rivers are clean, resilient, and thriving for people and nature alike to address the challenges we face.