What is a legal right?
Legal rights are an individual’s or group’s entitlements under the law which protect their well-being, interests, and freedoms. This includes civil, social and environmental rights. However, our right to healthy rivers is being jeopardised by a toxic torrent of negligence and greed.
Whether you’re an individual simply seeking information or an organisation pursuing a legal case, watch the video below to learn how, when, and why to use the law to protect Britain’s waterways:
What laws protect the UK’s rivers?
In the UK, rivers and their ecosystems are primarily protected by environmental laws and regulations aimed at preserving water quality, biodiversity, and ecological integrity. To identify and act on legal violations, campaigners should focus on understanding these regulatory frameworks governing water quality. These include:
What happens if these laws are broken?
These laws aim to regulate discharges into water bodies, set water quality standards, and establish mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement. Violation of these regulations should incur fines and penalties.
However, poor regulation has often resulted in a failure to enforce these laws, with frequent breaches resulting in minimal action being taken against the guilty parties.
If you suspect you have identified a breach in the regulation or law, it is important you escalate the issue by contacting the responsible regulatory body. If no action is taken, follow up with a more formal complaint and support with evidence, and engage local officials and the public using social media.
What are my rights and how can I use them?
As either an individual or an organisation, you have various legal rights and potential remedies available to address river pollution and related environmental concerns:
Right to know
Under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you have the right to access environmental information held by public authorities. This includes information related to river pollution, water quality monitoring, permits issued to polluters, and enforcement actions taken by regulatory agencies. You can find more information on how to make a FOI request in our FOI Guide or on the government website.
Right to report
You have the right to report incidents of river pollution or environmental harm to the relevant public authorities. It’s important to report pollution as it contributes to understanding the scale of its impact. If you can, make note of the time/date, duration, and location of the event, and report it to the relevant authority:
- In England, report it to the Environment Agency’s 24hr hotline
- In Wales, report to Natural Resources Wales
- In Scotland, report to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
- In Northern Ireland, report to the NI Environment Agency
Right to protest
Citizens have the right to protest peacefully to raise awareness about river pollution and advocate for environmental protection. Check out our campaign for my river section and Friends of the Earth’s protest guidance for more information.
Right to object
In cases where proposed developments or activities may impact rivers and the environment, you have the right to object during the planning process. This could involve submitting objections to planning applications, attending public hearings, and advocating for measures to mitigate environmental impacts.
If you need advice on a current planning application or proposed development, get in touch with your local CPRE branch (CPRW in Wales and APRS in Scotland) – planning is their bread and butter! The organisation Rights: Community: Action also support local communities with planning issues. Other useful resources include:
- The Woodland Trust info page on the UK’s planning systems and how to object to a planning application.
- Friends of the Earth’s campaigners guide to planning applications.
- Windrush Against Sewage Pollution and Evenlode Catchment Partnership’s resources on planning conditions to address sewage works capacity
Pictured: FOTT protestors outside the City Hall, London.
River rights
The concept of River Rights is part of the broader movement advocating for the ‘Rights of Nature’, where communities seek legal protection for their environments. Lawyers for Nature is one such organisation spearheading this movement, representing and working on behalf of nature in the legal arena.
In the UK, current environmental laws often fall short in safeguarding rivers. Recognising rivers as legal entities, with rights akin to corporations or citizens, could transform how we engage with and use water. This approach has already been adopted in countries like New Zealand, India, and Canada, where communities act as legal ‘guardians’ for rivers.
The idea is gaining traction in the UK, with groups like Love our Ouse in Lewes successfully pushing for legal rights for their local rivers.
As environmental challenges such as droughts and poor water quality intensify, River Rights could provide an essential solution for safeguarding watercourses in the future.
The Rights of Nature Toolkit, developed by King’s College London in collaboration with London Waterkeeper, provides practical resources for communities and individuals advocating for the legal recognition of nature’s rights, including waterways.
Legal action
In some cases you may be able to take legal action to hold polluters, regulators, and government to account.
For example, you may be able to bring a public law judicial review claim for failure to enforce the law (regulators, government, and local authorities) or a nuisance claim against those not abiding by it (polluters). However, legal cases can be challenging and costly for individuals, smaller groups and communities. It can also be difficult to know how to get the advice you need.
If you are considering legal action, we recommend seeking legal advice from environmental lawyers or organisations specialising in environmental litigation to help determine your rights and options. For example, Leigh Day, Fish Legal, and The Good Law Project.
You can also get in touch with River Action by emailing us: info@riveractionuk.com.
Important:
The information provided above does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. If you require legal advice, please refer to the sources listed above or consult a qualified legal professional.
Resources in this section
We’ve created the following free-to-use templates and guides to help you campaign for your river.
More action you can take
Explore these next steps from the River Rescue Kit or explore the complete toolkit.
