According to The Rivers Trust’s State of Our Rivers 2024 report, just 15% of England's river stretches achieved good ecological health and none are in good overall status. Failures can be attributed to multiple sources, including agriculture and rural land management activities, treated and untreated sewage discharge, and urbanisation and transport pollutants.

Mark Lloyd (CEO, The Rivers Trust) and Helen Wakeham (Director of Water, Environment Agency) discuss what needs to be done to tackle the problems and restore our waterways to health. How can we address monitoring and policy gaps, and how do we make sure that the solutions and policies put in place are fit for the future as new threats emerge? Chaired by Dame Fiona Reynolds.

This University of Bath IPR event took place on 19 March 2025.