River restoration would yield £7 of benefit for every £1 spent

(by Karma Loveday)

Restoring rivers could yield a seven-fold cost benefit, according to a new report from The Wildlife Trusts, Trent Rivers Trust and Intact Insurance.

The Rivers 2040 Vision assessed the impact of restoring the entirety of the River Trent, England’s longest river from source to sea – on nature, the economy and local communities. It found that an investment of £43m a year over 30 years could generate £10bn in economic benefit, meaning every £1 spent would yield £7 of benefit.

The work was intended to provide a blueprint for restoring whole river systems across the country, by reimagining how communities, businesses and land use work together.

At present, though, the Vision said efforts are fragmented and underfunded. It called for three areas of change: 

• Deploying nature-based solutions at scale.

• Growing local control of water: “A catchment-scale approach, bringing together locally focused investment and expertise through powerful Regional Water Authorities as part of the Government’s devolution agenda, will be critical to tackling these threats and realising the full potential of rivers for communities, nature and the economy.”

• A long-term water strategy that recognises nature as critical infrastructure: “A nature-first approach to all new development, alongside flood risk management plans that put nature-based solutions at their heart, must be embedded in public policy to unlock investment, empower communities in decision-making and hold developers to account.”

Meanwhile, there were mixed messages in The Rivers Trust’s State of our rivers report for 2026, including that there has been no overall improvement in river health in England since the last report in 2024, but that action can have a positive effect at local level.

None of England’s 4,000 river stretches are in good overall health, with only 15% achieving good or higher ecological health – the same as in 2024. The Rivers Trust said this means the 2027 Water Framework Directive health targets are likely to be missed.

Moreover, there is evidence that chemicals, phosphates, “and even treated sewage discharges” are also serious threats, and that climate change is a key driver of deterioration, “acting as a threat multiplier, making the impacts of all the other pressures rivers face worse”.

However, “there is hope… there are successes and improvements when we explore deeper”. As such, the report issued calls to action for governments, businesses, landowners and the wider public. 

The policy asks for the Government were:

• Develop stronger regulation and regulators that enforce and support healthy, functioning rivers.

• Address the gaps being felt as the UK diverges from EU regulations and legislation on chemicals and water treatment, with higher ambitions. 

• Develop regional bodies, underpinned by funded and mandated catchment partnerships to ensure that the right actions take place in the right locations. 

• Ensure the Clean Water Bill is not a missed opportunity for rivers.

• Fund farmers fairly by rapidly increasing support for water and nature-friendly farming and make schemes widespread, accessible and long term.

• Require businesses to understand, share and reduce their water, climate and nature-related dependencies, impacts and risks.