UK Nature and Environment

Polluted chalk streams in England’s South Downs infuriated voters in Chichester, a seat that had been Conservative for a century Jon Ungoed-Thomas Jon Ungoed-Thomas Sun 7 Jul 2024 06.00 BST

The River Lavant, one of the world’s rare chalk streams, is a precious and much-loved habitat in the South Downs, but has been blighted by hundreds of sewage spills.

Its chalk-filtered waters rise in East Dean, West Sussex, described by locals as the “quintessential English village”, flow south to Lavant and carve a route to Chichester. It flows out to sea via Chichester harbour.

In February the village green and pond at East Dean were covered in what residents described as sewage with a film of fungus. The stench was described as “overpowering”. The picturesque green was still cordoned off on Friday with signs warning that it was “unsafe for public access”.

The disturbing plight of the Lavant and other rivers across the country – and the failure of the water companies to protect them – helped power the Liberal Democrats to win 71 seats on Thursday. The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey hailed the party’s success the “best results in a century”.