Rivers: The River Chess

To mark World Rivers Day, the government has challenged the privatised water companies to improve their environmental performance, especially at chalk streams.

They provide a rich habitat for wildlife and endangered species like the water vole. But they are threatened by companies taking too much water, and increasingly by sewage discharges.

Continuing our series on rivers, our reporter Andrew Bomford took a walk down his local river, the Chess in the Chilterns, to see how it is under threat.

(Photo: A weir on the River Chess in the Chilterns
Credit: BBC)