News

In its latest ambitious move to enhance local environments, Severn Trent has today announced the launch of River Rangers, a brand new team dedicated to protecting the region’s waterways and keeping rivers healthy and thriving. 

The team of ten rangers will work closely with partners across the region to focus on improving river health and boosting biodiversity along stretches of the Midland’s rivers, as well as educating customers to prevent wipes and sanitary products from reaching rivers, while engaging with community groups and partners They will also carry out vital operational, monitoring and sampling activities, allowing the company to understand the quality of river in its region better than ever before, and what’s needed to protect and improve them. 

The launch of the new Rangers team, who are expected to be in place by the end of Summer, follows the recent announcement of an extra £565m investment on environmental projects the company will deliver as part of its Green Recovery programme to support the country’s post-pandemic recovery. This next innovative step of introducing the new team, will further accelerate Severn Trent’s ambitions of delivering environmental improvements across the Midlands.  

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Chief Executive, said: “We are always looking at what more we can do to support our communities and to enhance the local environment. Finding new and innovative ways to do this is a key component of our environmental strategy and it’s one of the reasons we frequently achieve the Environment Agency’s highest four star rating for environmental performance. That said, we know we can always do more, which is why we’re so excited to announce the launch of our brand-new team of River Rangers.  

“This new team will help us strengthen our industry-leading environmental position and support our partners to help our region’s rivers to thrive, bringing us closer to our rivers than ever before. The team will be embedded within the community talking to customers, farmers and everyone else who has a role to play when it comes to protecting rivers and the environment. The River Rangers will also help build on all of the other great things we’re doing, such as our Great Big Nature Boost campaign, and now, our ambitious Green Recovery programme.” 

Severn Trent’s Green Recovery programme, given the go ahead by industry regulator Ofwat recently, will help the company to introduce wild swimming on parts of the River Leam and the River Teme by creating the UK’s first bathing quality rivers stretches, as well as improving 500 kilometres of rivers across the region five years earlier than planned. The programme will also look to use nature-based approaches to reduce the risk of flooding in Mansfield while creating a green environment, something never previously seen on this scale in the UK. The project will minimise the amount of surface water from entering the network that ultimately reaches the river. 

“We don’t own rivers, but we want to play a leading role in looking after them,” adds Liv. “The creation of new initiatives like our River Rangers, our Great Big Nature Boost and the Green Recovery programme reinforce our industry-leading position and demonstrate that we’re totally committed to doing everything we can to ensure that our rivers are healthy and thriving, and can be fully enjoyed by our customers and communities for generations to come.”  

To learn more about Severn Trent’s environmental commitments, visit here.