Your Tidal Thames

Catchment partnership vision

We envisage a tidal Thames that is more accessible, greener and more connected to the wider London landscape and the sea. A river that benefits people, businesses and wildlife.

Related websites

Find out more about the activities and ambitions of this catchment partnership and how you can get involved to help improve the water environment in the catchment.

Catchment challenges

Current challenges identified by partnership

  • Physical modifications

    Land reclamation, flood defences, development and navigation have significantly reduced available natural habitat

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Road runoff (oil spill residue, tyre & brake wear) builds during dry weather and washes into watercourse during rainfall

  • Pollution from waste water

    150 year old sewers with lack of capacity result in untreated waste water flows Tideway’s super sewer will intercept

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

The partnership have not identified any wider water environment challenges

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Physical modifications

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

  • Pollution from waste water

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport
  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels
  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

A key achievement has been the revitalisation of Your Tidal Thames (YTT) Catchment Partnership in 2020. A selection of key successes since 2016 are:

  • Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP), Environment Agency, PLA Estuary Edges Guidance refreshed and launched
  • Zoological Society of London (ZSL) eel conservation project
  • ZSL river to classroom project
  • Thames Landscape Strategy (TLS) led project - Richmond Tidal Thames Habitat Action Plan
  • TLS project - Himalayan balsam bashing in Hammersmith
  • TLS project: Rewilding Arcadia
  • Thames Estuary Partnership project - Greater Thames Fish Migration Roadmap
  • TEP Blue Connections Project
  • Thames ‘litter strategy’ and Thames Litter Forum
  • Thames21 Thames River Watch project
  • Thames21 Chiswick Eyot project
  • Thames21 ‘road run-off’ project
  • YTT ‘unflushables’ campaign
  • YTT story map in development
  • ZSL State of the Thames Report
  • Building Flood Resilience in Disadvantaged Communities, Canvey Island.

Partnership development plans

Your Tidal Thames will be refreshing the Catchment Plan and Catchment Partnership Governance to ensure a more collaborative and equitable approach can be achieved to create more impact and deliver wider benefits. We will seek to expand our network in a more place based way through this refresh to enable the right projects to be delivered in the right place by the right organisations. We’ll seek to collaborate across the estuary on a range of projects demonstrating effective collaboration, sustainability and best practices. We seek to integrate our vision into land and marine plan implementation and support the creation of riverside strategies. We will improve community involvement in governance of the catchment and make our engagement more inclusive. We will raise funds to enable us to co-create and ensure we complete ambitious multi-benefit projects.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Estuary Edges, Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP)

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Thames TraC

  • Confident

    Greater Thames Fish Migration Roadmap, Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP)

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Thames TraC

  • Confident

    Building flood resilience in disadvantaged communities, volunteer activities including invasive non native species

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    EU funding
    Location
    THAMES LOWER

  • Confident

    Rewilding Arcadia: enhancement, conservation and re-wilding of floodplains to reconnect people & wildlife with water

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Green Recovery Challenge Fund/Challenge Fund
    Location
    THAMES UPPER

  • Less certain

    Develop a catchment wide invasive non-native species plan, ’GB Floating Pennywort Strategy' and information campaign

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage invasive non-native species
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    More certainty on the availability of multi-year funding
    Location
    Thames TraC

  • Less certain

    Opportunity mapping and restoration on the tidal extent of the tributaries

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    More certainty on the availability of multi-year funding
    Location
    THAMES MIDDLE THAMES UPPER

  • Less certain

    Thames Foreshore Project - to improve understanding of changes to foreshore erosion and deposition

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Availability of funding is uncertain
    Location
    THAMES MIDDLE THAMES UPPER

  • Less certain

    Thames River Watch (Thames21)

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    More certainty on the availability of multi-year funding
    Location
    THAMES MIDDLE THAMES UPPER

Catchment Partnership contributors

Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: