15.3% of England's rivers are in good health. Every one fails on chemicals.
Environment Agency 2025 assessment. Ratings last changed ; we check for a new release every month.
Bad
137 (3.5%)
Poor
732 (18.6%)
Moderate
2,464 (62.6%)
Good
596 (15.2%)
High
4 (0.1%)
These are the Environment Agency's own ratings from its 2025 assessment of 3,933 rivers, estuaries and coastal waters, published in August 2026. Looking at rivers alone, 15% reach good health. The agency's headline figure of 14.3% also counts lakes, which score lower and are not listed here. The law set good as the target for all of them.
Find your local river
Enter a postcode in England to see which river your area drains into and how it is rated.
What the ratings mean
- High
- The river is close to its natural state.
- Good
- The river is only slightly changed from its natural state.
- Moderate
- The river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering.
- Poor
- The river is badly affected, with much of the expected wildlife missing.
- Bad
- The river is severely damaged, with most of the expected wildlife missing.
A rating is built from what lives in the river (fish, insects, plants), the water itself (oxygen, phosphate, ammonia, temperature) and how natural its flow and banks are. The lowest scoring part sets the overall rating, so one problem is enough to hold a river back.
Why every river fails on chemicals
Separately from ecological health, each river is tested for a list of hazardous chemicals. All 3,938 waters failed. Almost all of that comes from three kinds of pollutant that last for decades: mercury, PFOS (one of the forever chemicals) and PBDEs, flame retardants that were banned years ago. They collect in fish and river mud, and the Environment Agency does not expect them to clear until 2063.
This is about rivers, not the water in your tap. Tap water is treated and tested against its own standards. You can see those test results by looking up your postcode. Where PFAS is a concern, our guide to filters that remove PFAS covers what works at home.
Rivers rated bad
The lowest rating, for rivers and waters that at least one postcode district drains into. 137 waters in England are rated bad in total.
| River or water | Area | Rating | Postcode districts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mole - Horley to Dorking | Mole | Bad | RH2, RH3, RH6 |
| Teville Stream | Adur and Ouse | Bad | BN11, BN14, BN15 |
| Barrow Beck | Louth Grimsby and Ancholme | Bad | DN18, DN19 |
| Cannons Brook | Lee Upper | Bad | CM18, CM19 |
| Colne (upper east arm including Mimshall Brook) | Colne | Bad | AL9, EN6 |
| Rea Bk - conf Pontesford Bk to conf R Severn | Severn Uplands | Bad | SY2, SY5 |
| Rea from Bourn Brook to River Tame | Tame Anker and Mease | Bad | B5, B7 |
| Ribble | North West TraC | Bad | PR0, PR1 |
| Sow - Doxey Bk to R Penk | Trent Valley Staffordshire | Bad | ST16, ST18 |
| Upper Dour | Stour | Bad | CT18, CT19 |
| Alver | East Hampshire | Bad | PO13 |
| Anston Brook from Source to Ryton | Idle and Torne | Bad | S25 |
| Bremere Rife | Arun and Western Streams | Bad | PO20 |
| Caker Stream | Wey and Trib | Bad | GU34 |
| Castle Eden Burn from Source to North Sea | Wear | Bad | SR8 |
| Cock Beck Catchment (trib of Wharfe) | Wharfe and Ouse Lower | Bad | LS14 |
| Crane (Dorset) | Dorset | Bad | BH31 |
| Croco | Weaver Gowy | Bad | CW10 |
| East & West Fen Drains | Witham | Bad | PE22 |
| Gypsey Race from Source to North Sea | Hull and East Riding | Bad | YO16 |
| Hawstead Tributary | Cam and Ely Ouse | Bad | IP29 |
| Hemington Brook Catchment (trib of the Soar) | Soar | Bad | DE74 |
| Hertford from Source to River Derwent | Derwent Humber | Bad | YO14 |
| Holton Brook and tributaries | Thames and Chilterns South | Bad | OX33 |
| Hundred River | Suffolk East | Bad | IP15 |
| Lune | North West TraC | Bad | LA1 |
| Middle Gill Beck from Source to Kilton Beck | Tees | Bad | TS13 |
| Nut Brook Catchment (trib of Erewash) | Trent Lower and Erewash | Bad | DE7 |
| Ock | Wey and Trib | Bad | GU8 |
| Pyford Brook Catchment (trib of Trent) | Trent Valley Staffordshire | Bad | WS13 |
| Rea - conf Farlow Bk to conf R Teme | Teme | Bad | DY14 |
| Red Strine - source to conf R Strine | Severn Middle Shropshire | Bad | TF2 |
| Skitter Beck / East Halton Beck | Louth Grimsby and Ancholme | Bad | DN39 |
| Sneyd Brook from Source to Tame (W/hampton Arm) | Tame Anker and Mease | Bad | WS2 |
| South Gwash | Welland | Bad | LE15 |
| Stainsby Beck Catchment (trib of Tidal Tees) | Tees | Bad | TS8 |
| Stiffkey & Glaven | Anglian TraC | Bad | NR23 |
| Tributary of River Uck north of Uckfield | Adur and Ouse | Bad | TN22 |
| Upper Beult - High Halden and Bethersden Streams | Medway | Bad | TN26 |
| Weaver (Barnett to Valley Brook) | Weaver Gowy | Bad | CW5 |
Rivers rated good or high
The healthiest rivers and waters, starting with those that serve the most postcode districts.
| River or water | Area | Rating | Postcode districts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle and Lower Darent | Darent and Cray | Good | BR8, DA1, DA2, DA3, DA4 |
| Scilly Isles | South West TraC | Good | TR21, TR22, TR23, TR24, TR25 |
| Tyne and Wear | Northumbria TraC | Good | NE26, NE30, NE64, SR6 |
| Itchen | Test and Itchen | Good | SO18, SO25, SO50 |
| Lands End to Trevose Head | South West TraC | Good | TR5, TR7, TR26 |
| Meon | East Hampshire | Good | PO14, PO15, PO17 |
| Tor Bay | South West TraC | Good | TQ3, TQ4, TQ5 |
| Anton - Upper | Test and Itchen | Good | SP10, SP11 |
| Carrick Roads Outer | South West TraC | Good | TR10, TR11 |
| Crimdon Beck from Source to Sea | Wear | Good | TS27, TS28 |
| Derwent - conf Cocker to tidal | Derwent North West | Good | CA13, CA14 |
| Ehen (upper including Liza) | South West Lakes | Good | CA23, CA26 |
| Ferring Rife | Arun and Western Streams | Good | BN12, BN13 |
| Kent - conf Sprint to tidal | Kent and Leven | Good | LA8, LA9 |
| Lyme Bay East | South West TraC | Good | DT5, EX12 |
| Teme - conf R Onny to conf R Severn | Teme | Good | SY8, WR6 |
| Test (Upper) | Test and Itchen | Good | RG25, RG28 |
| Vernatt's Drain | Welland | Good | PE6, PE11 |
| Alderbourne | Colne | Good | HP15 |
| Aller Brook (Teign) - Upper | Devon South | Good | TQ2 |
| Annas | South West Lakes | Good | LA19 |
| Annstead Burn from Source to N Sea | Northumberland Rivers | Good | NE68 |
| Avon (Devon Tidal) and Sth Hams - Blackpool | Devon South | Good | TQ6 |
| Becton Bunny | New Forest | Good | BH25 |
| Bela | Kent and Leven | Good | LA7 |
Common questions
Are England's rivers clean?
Mostly not. In the Environment Agency's 2025 assessment, 15.3% of England's 3,933 rivers, estuaries and coastal waters were rated good or high for ecological health. Every single one failed the chemical test.
Why does every river in England fail the chemical test?
Because of a small group of pollutants that last for decades and are now found everywhere: mercury, PFOS (a forever chemical once used in firefighting foam and stain-proofing) and PBDEs (flame retardants banned years ago). They build up in fish and river mud. The Environment Agency does not expect rivers to be clear of them until 2063.
Does a polluted river mean my tap water is unsafe?
No. River ratings describe the river, not the water in your tap. Tap water is treated and tested against separate drinking water standards before it reaches you. A poorly rated river does make treatment harder and more expensive where that river is a drinking water source. You can check the tap water test results for your postcode on TapWater.uk.
What does good ecological status mean?
It means the river is only slightly changed from its natural state: the fish, insects and plants you would expect are there, and oxygen, nutrients and flow are close to natural. The law set good status as the target for every river. Moderate, poor and bad mean the river falls short, by a growing margin.
How often are river ratings updated?
The Environment Agency runs a full assessment about every six years, with partial updates in between. The figures on this page come from the 2025 assessment, published in August 2026. We check for a new release every month.
Source: Environment Agency, Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations classification 2025, river catchments and transitional and coastal waters, under the Open Government Licence. Covers England only. Postcode districts are matched to the river catchment their centre sits in; tidal and seaside districts are matched to the nearest estuary or coastal water. Checked for a new release every month.