Affinity Water has announced that for the first time it will voluntarily stop abstracting water from boreholes at the head of the Chess Valley which affects the River Chess in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Making the announcement on World Rivers Day, Affinity Water said the action marked the company’s strong ambition to restore the globally rare chalk streams in the Chilterns and across Affinity Water’s supply area, by committing to ending unsustainable abstraction.

Affinity Water is currently working with partners on its long-term water resources management plan (WRMP) and Water Resources South East (WRSE) and Water Resources East (WRE)

The water company’s action today has been widely welcomed by regulators, the Chilterns Conservation Board and NGOs as a 'critical step forward'.

The action follows years of investigation, trials, and collaborative efforts with local groups in the Chilterns. A final pilot was undertaken earlier this year to understand the impact of reducing borehole abstraction on the environment and the local water supply.

Affinity Water will continue to work with partners and the Environment Agency to monitor the beneficial impacts on flows in the Chess and ensure that there are no adverse effects to public water supplies or the environment.

Affinity Water will be following up the changes that it is making in the Chess catchment in order to leave more water in the environment. Across its supply area, Affinity will also be significantly reducing groundwater abstraction in the Ver, Mimram, Upper Lea and Misbourne catchments by summer 2024.

The majority of the world’s chalk streams are found in England and their heritage should be viewed as an English Great Barrier Reef or rainforest. A number of chalk streams flow through the Chilterns and they are key features that define the outstanding nature of the landscape. The special habitats are home to an abundance of wildlife species such as water crowfoot, flag iris, mayfly, brown trout, kingfisher, otters and the nationally endangered water vole.

Chalk streams are at risk of extinction as the impacts of climate change combine with increasing demand for water from a growing population. Today many English chalk streams are dry in long stretches and do not meet the objectives set out in environmental legislation.

Affinity Water is committing to ending environmentally unsustainable abstraction from these precious river catchments and to work in collaboration with other water companies, industries, universities and NGOs to develop alternative, sustainable water supplies away from chalk river catchments.

Marking the event, Affinity Water Chief Executive Pauline Walsh said:

“Chalk streams are a precious part of our local and national heritage and a priceless natural resource. This is the decade where we must protect and enhance the environment for every generation. We recognise this is not a new issue, but it is clear that today we need to act with urgency. We need to work differently to ensure that we can build on the actions in the Chess, Ver and Mimram, as soon as possible, to benefit all of our chalk rivers.”

Jake Rigg, Director of Corporate Affairs at Affinity Water added that its WRMP sets out how it will work with partners to reduce the amount of water it takes from chalk streams and invest in the critical natural habitats.

Chalk aquifers have been put under increased pressure by an ever-growing population, abstraction and other issues such as climate change - 65% of the public drinking water supplied in the south-east of England comes from the chalk aquifer which chalk streams rely on for their flow.

Allen Beechey, Chilterns Chalk Streams Project Officer explained that of just 260 chalk streams to be found on the planet, 85% are found in England. Describing them as England’s rainforests, he went on to warn that currently many are struggling for their very survival and are “truly chalk streams in crisis.” “The effects of climate change on the health of chalk streams are as undeniable as the impact of our high-water use,” he added.

The chalk streams that flow through the Chilterns are widely regarded as the most threatened of all chalk streams in the world.

Last summer more than 60% of the total length of chalk stream habitat in the Chilterns AONB was dry.

Sam Lumb, Area Director for the Environment Agency said:

“Our chalk streams are precious and we are committed to protecting them. Population growth, particularly in the South East, means that more water is needed at a time when climate change is causing the amount of water that is available to decline. Whilst we have to take water from the environment, we must ensure that abstraction is sustainable."

“This is a welcome first step by Affinity Water in the right direction and we will continue to work with them to reduce reliance on chalk streams. Ultimately, we must end environmentally unsustainable abstraction, transforming flows in areas of significant water stress, improving these unique and rare environments now and for the future.”