Thames Water has launched its plans to protect and enhance the River Chess, while involving local communities in its care.

On Friday Local councillors and community leaders joined Thames Water on Friday last week at the official launch event in Latimer Park, Chesham.

Guests saw first-hand water quality monitoring of the chalk stream and preservation efforts by the Chilterns Conservation Board and River Chess Association, who have worked with the water company on its Smarter Water Catchment initiative for the river.

The £3 million project aims to bring together organisations, community groups and residents from across the region to help secure a brighter future for the River Chess and other rivers in the area.

The plans set out a 10-year commitment to boost biodiversity and help address water quality issues, as well as providing wider benefits for local communities through better access, improved amenities, schools programmes, volunteering opportunities and health and wellbeing benefits.

Richard Aylard, Thames Water sustainability director, said:

“We are keen to play our full part in protecting and enhancing this precious resource. Working in partnership with local stakeholders we’ve set out our plans to protect the Chess’s vulnerable and ecologically significant chalk stream environment, by reducing abstraction and improving water quality through a major expansion of our Chesham sewage works.”

Paul Jennings from the River Chess Association commented: 

“It is great to be working on a project that is looking at The River Chess Catchment as a whole. Fundamental issues surrounding water volume and quality are being addressed and work is well underway with cooperation from Thames Water and Affinity Water. Working with local authorities and the farming community we will be addressing urban and arable runoff."

Tom Beeston, Chiltern Society Chief Officer, said a new approach was needed - not just to abstraction and pollution discharges, but also to how we manage housing and development, public access and putting nature first. 

Chalk streams are a globally rare habitats, with 85 per cent of the world’s 260 chalk streams located in England. Nine of these are found in the Chiltern Hills.

Working in partnership with local stakeholders, Thames Water will tackle the issues of water quality and low water levels, which affect the River Chess, and support the health and wellbeing of Chess communities by: 

• Carrying out improvements to Chesham Sewage Treatment Works to reduce discharges. Thames Water sees all discharges of untreated sewage as unacceptable, and the Chesham upgrade will accelerate work to stop them being necessary.
• Identifying sustainable solutions to river flow issues by working with groups such as Water Resources South East (WSRE) and Affinity Water who supply the area.
• Closing its water pumping station for the area in 2025, to reduce abstraction pressures.Re-lining over 10km of its sewer network in hotspot areas to prevent the infiltration of wateImproving opportunities for access by all user groups to the river and the wider valley landscape.
• Creating programmes of education for local schools, colleges and special-interest groups while expanding its network of volunteers to involve a broader cross-section of the local community in practical conservation.

The company has also launched plans for the River Evenlode and the River Crane. The three plans were co-created in partnership with 67 organisations who have an interest in these rivers. Thames Water will be looking at expanding this approach to other catchments from 2025 onwards.