2025 has the potential to be a transformative year for the water environment. We have the opportunity to kick-start once-in-a-generation change towards more integrated water management, ensuring that our water system genuinely meets the needs of our people, nature and a thriving economy.

Before the end of the year, the Government is expected to publish its Water White Paper, responding to the recommendations made by Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission and setting out its vision for a Water Reform Bill in 2026. The Rivers Trust and many local Rivers Trusts have fed in at every opportunity throughout this process, and we have made our priorities clear. Many of them were picked up by the Water Commission in its final report.

Now is the Government’s chance to turn all this good thinking and learning into the transformative action that our waterways need and the public demands. As well as setting out its plan for longer-term systems change, the Government must take all opportunities to start putting more enlightened water management into practice now. We cannot afford to bake existing failures into the next five years of water management, planning and delivery.

When the Government publishes its Water White Paper, The Rivers Trust will be looking out for key commitments that will help revitalise our rivers:

A truly integrated approach to water management that makes space for water, from source to sea, and tackles pollution from all sources, not just the water industry. Agriculture, development, infrastructure, and more, all have to be involved in ensuring our rivers are fit for the future.
Regional governance underpinned by catchment planning will drive cost-efficient delivery that benefits nature, communities, and businesses. Regional systems planners that bring all sectors together and align funding streams must work with properly funded and mandated Catchment Partnerships.
A strong and effective regulator that is properly funded, focussed on enforcement, and has the environment and nature at its core.
A clear and ambitious legislative framework that drives holistic improvement of the water environment. Building on and strengthening the Water Framework Directive, rather than moving the goalposts, by including small waters and tackling all pressures including chemicals, sewage sludge, and more.
A unified collaborative monitoring system that brings together high-tech, regulatory, and citizen science data to fill evidence gaps and drive cost-effective improvements to our rivers. The Government should learn from initiatives like CaSTCo and implement their recommendations.

Critically, we need to get started now.

As water companies start delivering their new investment plans, attention turns to developing the next round of River Basin Management Plans, and reforms to the Bathing Water framework come to a head, there is a real risk that existing failings and outdated thinking will be locked in for years to come. Therefore, while some of the changes will require more consultation or even legislation, the Government must be proactive and start embedding the new, integrated approach now.

To make a meaningful start, The Rivers Trust wants to see the Government take immediate action in a few key areas:

Start to test out Regional Systems Planners as we transition towards this new way of working.
Properly resource and strengthen the mandate of Catchment Partnerships so that they can create comprehensive catchment plans across the country.
Establish a collaborative catchment monitoring system following CaSTCo’s recommendations.
Reduce planning and delivery barriers for nature-based solutions to get interventions in the ground now.

Our rivers cannot wait for another few years for change to happen and neither can we – our businesses, communities and wider environment depend on rivers that are fit for the future.

The Rivers Trust expects the Government to have listened to and recognised the urgency of the issues facing the water system. In their Water White Paper, the Government has a unique opportunity to catalyse the change that is needed to transform the water system.