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We recognise that water quality in the River Deben is not good enough and to tackle this, we’re collaborating with environmental organisations, communities and citizen scientists to improve the health of the River Deben.
Some of the ways we’re doing this:
- In 2023, we supported the River Deben Association with its ‘Save the Deben’ campaign focused on achieving designated bathing status on the river Deben at Waldringfield. The application was successful, meaning the river water quality is being monitored and testing ongoingly, by the Environment Agency.
- We also supported the formation of the Upper Deben Farm Cluster, a group of local farmers that are aligned on the same goal of reducing their impact on the environment. Within the funded period, the Cluster will focus on baselining and mapping existing resources, habitats and features to provide a view on the current ecological health of the Deben.
- Lastly, we have been supporting the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust and various other stakeholders with their ‘Recovering the Deben: Source to Sea’ initiative, which aims to transform the Deben ecosystem by 2030. Recognised by Defra as a pivotal action plan, the project has resulted in the creation of a Catchment Action Plan, which details the steps required to recover the health of the River Deben.
The results of the Environment Agency sampling (plus a year of our own sampling under the Get River Positive programme in support of local citizen science) has helped to establish a baseline of water quality data and public health risk across the catchment that has enabled us to refine our proposals for AMP8 to investigate how much impact our assets are having on the bathing area.
Our AMP8 proposals include provision to invest in CSO spill reduction and water recycling centre disinfection schemes in the catchment as necessary to ensure that we are doing what we need to help protect the bathing water and therefore support the tourism and recreational water related economy of the area.
The various projects taking place to improve the health of the River Deben and restore it to its natural state, all form part of a wider programme of work focused on working with others and protecting the environment.
Find out about the other investments we’re making in bathing waters here.