Robert Macfarlane writes:
“The present state of our rivers is devastating –– but the rise of citizen science and the wider river-guardianship movement in these islands is cause for tremendous hope.
At the core of this movement lies a central, shared belief: that rivers are life-forces, not only resources. All of us involved in river activism know, deep in our hearts, that healthy, living rivers enliven everything around them, including humans –– and that a wounded or dying river is among the most depressing places in a landscape.
Out of passion springs action: we are moved to work for the revival of our river system because at some level we understand that our fate flows with that of rivers –– and always has.
...rivers are easily wounded, but given a chance they heal themselves with remarkable speed. Their life pours back – and with it, ours too.” (with thanks to Ian Rees for the nudge)
“The present state of our rivers is devastating –– but the rise of citizen science and the wider river-guardianship movement in these islands is cause for tremendous hope.
At the core of this movement lies a central, shared belief: that rivers are life-forces, not only resources. All of us involved in river activism know, deep in our hearts, that healthy, living rivers enliven everything around them, including humans –– and that a wounded or dying river is among the most depressing places in a landscape.
Out of passion springs action: we are moved to work for the revival of our river system because at some level we understand that our fate flows with that of rivers –– and always has.
...rivers are easily wounded, but given a chance they heal themselves with remarkable speed. Their life pours back – and with it, ours too.” (with thanks to Ian Rees for the nudge)
In January 2025, after a poll of our members, we changed our name from the Lower Char Community Project to
River Char Action Group
We work closely with: River Char Community Project; CROWD (Clean Rivers of West Dorset); Dorset National Landscape (see full details)
River Char Action Group
We work closely with: River Char Community Project; CROWD (Clean Rivers of West Dorset); Dorset National Landscape (see full details)
Read our May 2025 Newsletter
Go here to download and read a copy of our report on pollution in the River Char (dated January 2025).
Or read the much shorter Summary report!
Go here to download and read a copy of our report on pollution in the River Char (dated January 2025).
Or read the much shorter Summary report!
The 2025 Charmouth Dragon River Festival was held ON 31st May 2025
Photo: Bob Hamblett
This year we welcomed our first guest Dragon (Lim) from the River Lim.
Lim paraded, alongside our Misty, through the village, along the river at Seadown Holiday Park and down to the beach where the Lyme Regis Town Crier proclaimed a Declaration of Rights of the River Char. And we were wonderfully accompanied by the Cynewulf Morris Side, who led the parade and shared some dances with us down by the sea.
This community festival and its parade are part of a much wider citizen science led programme by the River Char Action Group who are determined to clean up the River Char and its estuary down by the beach.
The River Char works alongside and supports sister groups, like the River Lim , who are doing wonderful work for their own River, as well as being part of a wider network of rivers represented by CROWD – Clean Rivers of West Dorset. Read more.
Lim paraded, alongside our Misty, through the village, along the river at Seadown Holiday Park and down to the beach where the Lyme Regis Town Crier proclaimed a Declaration of Rights of the River Char. And we were wonderfully accompanied by the Cynewulf Morris Side, who led the parade and shared some dances with us down by the sea.
This community festival and its parade are part of a much wider citizen science led programme by the River Char Action Group who are determined to clean up the River Char and its estuary down by the beach.
The River Char works alongside and supports sister groups, like the River Lim , who are doing wonderful work for their own River, as well as being part of a wider network of rivers represented by CROWD – Clean Rivers of West Dorset. Read more.
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We gratefully acknowledge funding and support from:
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- Watch our film 'River Char Voices' launched at our Community Event in Charmouth in August 2024.
- Should I swim in the river or at the beach? – Creating a better place (blog.gov.uk)
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Length-of-river water quality tests on the River Char
We work closely with Wessex Water, who have been running with us a series of regular water quality tests along the length of the River Char. They cover:
Go here to read a copy of our report on pollution in the River Char (dated January 2025). At the two Deep Cleans for Charmouth Beach in 2024, pioneering beach clean experts NURDLE removed a huge quantity nurdles and biobeads from the beach and river mouth. (Hard to count but probably well over 2 million.)
See NURDLE's video below. |
Here are the Westcountry CSI test results for the River Char for 2023 - see the full pdf here
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Imagine a river THAT's
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microplastics on our beachEaster 2023, Dana Assinder took these photos of microplastics on our beach:
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What we need more than anything is for the government to give the Environment Agency teeth. See this Nov. 2022 Financial Times article on how the UK Government has underfunded the agency that is designed to protect our rivers from pollution:
England’s rivers pay the price for hollowed-out Environment Agency
England’s rivers pay the price for hollowed-out Environment Agency
What to do if you see sewage in the river or in the sea at CHARMOUTH
1. Take photos and immediately call Wessex Water on 0345 600 4600. Give an exact location and description.
2. Follow up with an email to them at [email protected] (copied to [email protected])
If you spot sewage pollution in the River Lim or on the beaches at LYME REGIS
1. Take photos and immediately call South West Water on 0344 346 2020. Give an exact location and description.
2. Then follow up with an email to the River Lim Monitoring Group at [email protected])
Signs of sewage pollution include:
toilet paper, wipes, faeces, condoms, sanitary products in a river or in the sea, on a riverbank or the beach ~ a river appearing cloudy or milky ~ grey feathery ‘sewage fungus’ on the bed of a river ~ dead or gasping fish ~ a noticeable sewage smell
[There are many reasons why foam appears in rivers and near the seashore. Some of these are completely natural. Do not make an emergency call about foam unless you have other evidence to suggest that it is caused by sewage.]
1. Take photos and immediately call Wessex Water on 0345 600 4600. Give an exact location and description.
2. Follow up with an email to them at [email protected] (copied to [email protected])
If you spot sewage pollution in the River Lim or on the beaches at LYME REGIS
1. Take photos and immediately call South West Water on 0344 346 2020. Give an exact location and description.
2. Then follow up with an email to the River Lim Monitoring Group at [email protected])
Signs of sewage pollution include:
toilet paper, wipes, faeces, condoms, sanitary products in a river or in the sea, on a riverbank or the beach ~ a river appearing cloudy or milky ~ grey feathery ‘sewage fungus’ on the bed of a river ~ dead or gasping fish ~ a noticeable sewage smell
[There are many reasons why foam appears in rivers and near the seashore. Some of these are completely natural. Do not make an emergency call about foam unless you have other evidence to suggest that it is caused by sewage.]
What we're doingWe're:
Julie Leah and Mike Haines water monitoring ion the River Char (image: Judith Haines]
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NEWS UPDATESOn 31st May 2025 we're organising the second Charmouth Dragon River Festival.
On 7th Feb 2025 we're running a community information evening at Wootton Fitzpaine Village Hall to report the results of our 2024 programme of river testing.
On 29th February 2024 we handed our MP and the Minister for Water and Rural Growth a list of our campaign aims.
In January 2024, the Nurdle Organisation and a crowd of residents cleared up an amazing 1.2 million microplastic beads from our river mouth. We organised a similar clean-up took place in March 2024.
Here's a video of the Green Party's Baroness Jenny Jones's visit to Lyme Regis in Sept 2022 to learn more about pollution in our rivers.
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Image from www.nurdlenerd.co.uk
Nurdles and BiobeadsA quick look along Charmouth Beach will reveal a horrifying amount of plastic. This ranges from bags and bottles to shards of degraded plastic as well as nurdles (the raw material of manufactured plastics) and biobeads (used in the sewage treatment plant above Lyme Regis - but not at the Charmouth Sewage Works). Find out more on our plastics page. |
Image from Wikimedia
sewage spillsThere's been a lot in the news about sewage spills, including those in and near Charmouth. We've had a tour of our Sewage Treatment Works and lots of talks with Wessex Water. We've prepared a summary page and a detailed report on how these spills happen locally, how often the happen and what we can do together to help address the problem. Sign up below if you'd like updates. |
Image from Wikimedia
WildlifeA lot of the work going on further up the river is designed to record and support the wildlife that lives on and around the river. We are doing our bit with a year-round water quality monitoring programme, gathering sightings of birds and other wildlife (some, like mink, not so native or desirable) and celebrating the river's own wild life. Sign up below if you'd like to help. |
Sign up to join the River Char Action Group here. We'll send you our occasional newsletter with updates and ways to help.