We’re moving! From now on you’ll find all the latest news and events from the Chess Smarter Water Catchment team on the Chilterns Chalk Streams Project website.
We’re delighted to announce the publication of the new River Chess Catchment Plan, a collaborative effort that brings together the knowledge, passion, and expertise of a wide range of partners dedicated to protecting this precious freshwater habitat. Chalk streams are often called the “rainforests of the UK” globally rare ecosystems that support an incredible diversity...
Smart Rivers 2022-2025 Report Released- Read now
Phosphate is one of the biggest problems for the River Chess. In the Environment Agency’s Water Framework Directive assessment, phosphate status is rated as ‘Poor’ and a key ‘Reason for Not Achieving Good status’ limiting the Chess to its current overall rating of ‘Moderate’. One of the greatest phosphate sources was the Chesham Sewage Treatment Works (STW), so the EA...
Citizen Science Evening 2025 Celebrating another great year of citizen science in the Chess! Thank you so much to everyone who came along to our citizen science evening last week! It was great to see so many of you, and share mulled wines and mince pies. We were joined by some great guest speakers from...
In early May the CCSP team and a group of citizen scientists conducted SmartRivers surveys on the Chess. We collected samples from 6 locations on the Chess to get analysed by WildFish and the results are now back. SmartRivers is a scientifically robust citizen science toolkit to assess water quality and biodiversity of rivers and...
Chalk streams and their landscapes are a characteristic and attractive feature of the Chilterns National Landscape. The Chilterns chalk streams are, however, amongst the most threatened of all chalk streams in the world. Currently, none of the Chilterns’ chalk streams are in good ecological condition but they still support an abundance of wildlife and are...
We are thrilled to announce the successful completion of a comprehensive report on citizen science activity conducted on the River Chess from 2021 to 2025. The results from the different methods used have provided valuable insights into the health of this rare chalk stream ecosystem and the wider catchment helping us to better understand the current...
Chess Smarter Water Catchment Annual Event 2025 Round Up On Wednesday 26th March 2025, our Chess Smarter Water Catchment (SWC) Team hosted the annual event. The days events and talks reflected on what has been achieved, it was wonderful to see over 70 people attend the event. 2025 marks a milestone in the projects life...
