Westcountry Rivers Trust

14/10/2026

What lives in the river at the bottom of your school field? 🔍

That was the question pupils at Otterton Primary School set out to answer when we visited on 25 September, thanks to funding from the River Ottery Legacy.

They started with a tray of river water, mud and leaves. At first glance, not much to see. But as they looked closer, the tray came alive: wriggling, crawling, swimming creatures everywhere.

With magnifiers and ID guides in hand, the pupils sorted and named what they found. The big reveals? Several large dragonfly and damselfly larvae, and then, to everyone’s amazement, a juvenile lamprey! 🐟

Along the way they discovered something even bigger: these creatures aren’t just fascinating, they’re clues. The species living in a river tell us how clean and healthy it is.

Everything was returned safely to the river afterwards, and the pupils went home as river detectives. Their teachers told us “the children loved it and were buzzing about it all day” 🐝

Thank you to Otterton Primary for joining us on the adventure.

Want to start your own journey of discovery? Get in touch if you do.

09/10/2026

07/10/2026

This is what we mean when we say a channel is 'incised'.

A common issue in the Westcountry. River water velocity has increased through channel clearance and high flows coming off the land, as floodplains have shrunk and become drained and heavily managed.

The speed of the water scours the river bed until it gets much deeper than it would naturally be, which then increases velocity even more in a vicious cycle.

The River Restoration team were out surveying with GPS in Somerset recently to help us model corrective measures to slow the flow and stabilise this channel, helping it recover and reduce excessive bank erosion.

This picture shows the channel is one Jay deep!

05/10/2026

Ponds, soil probes and a very good view. Not your average work trip!

Our team travelled to Slovakia to meet our WATERGRID partners from across Europe. Together we are finding ways to protect water, especially during droughts, using nature and smart technology.

We visited a park where farmers keep water in the land with ponds, trees, healthy soil and steps cut into hillsides. It showed us that there is no one fix for water problems. Every place needs its own answer.

Next, we will test these ideas on the River Tamar.

Thank you to our brilliant hosts at the Slovak University of Agriculture and the Bioclimatic Park.

What would you do to help your local area hold on to water? Tell us below.

02/10/2026

Such impressive work! 🙌

02/10/2026

After years of groundwork through our Strategic Exe Weirs project, Helebridge Weir is officially out!

With the concrete cap gone, the river is settling in. Winter floods will rework the loose boulders and cobbles, gradually bringing the stretch upstream back to life. For now, flows are steered to the right bank so fish can pass in low water.

Upstream, over 100 boulders now form a ramp to help fish past the bridge apron (the sloped concrete base under the bridge). Over time, it will blend in as a natural riffle. The bottom rows are locked into bedrock, so it's built to handle floods.

Why it matters: salmon, sea trout and eels all migrate between the sea and the Exe to breed and grow. Fewer barriers means more river for them to reach.

Another brilliant job by our River and Fisheries teams! 👏

30/09/2026

A very old and bleached otter Spraint found on the River Barle in Exmoor.

Sections of the river have unfortunately very high levels of the invasive signal crayfish, but they don't seem to be much trouble for the local otter populations, whose characteristic dung pellet is full of the shell, legs and antennae here.

Even found pieces of the head and claw nearby so potentially a lunching spot as well!

28/09/2026

World Rivers Day is a reminder that rivers face multiple pressures at once.

On the River Lyd, abstraction licence conditions require South West Water to mitigate the impact of taking water from the river. We were contracted to deliver that mitigation, and in six months completed an options appraisal, ecological surveys to meet permit conditions, and works that respect flood risk, otter habitat, and notable bryophyte and lichen communities.

The result is a high-flow refuge backwater, cover for adult fish and a restored salmon spawning riffle.

Habitat alone won't recover our rivers, but regulated mitigation done well makes a measurable difference.

South West Water Environment Agency SPconservations

28/09/2026

27/09/2026

This World Rivers Day, we're celebrating our rivers, the wildlife they support, and the work we do to monitor, restore and protect them. It's no easy feat, and challenges lie ahead - but with the support of our partners and supporters, we're committed to keeping them healthy. 💙