Rivers and streams in parts of UK 'under threat of drying up', says WWF

Hundreds of rivers and streams are at risk of drying out due to poor water management.

A report by the World Wide Fund for Nature warns over half of chalk streams and a quarter of rivers are under threat if action isn't taken.

At the River Chess in Buckinghamshire there's no water flowing.

The riverbed is dry, with cracked mud and weeds where the stream once ran.

Chairman of the River Chess Association Paul Jennings said: "This would be knee-depth crystal clear water that's come out of the chalk aquifer, with lovely fronds of weed. You have ducks and swans and all sorts of livestock in here plus fish. But we don't have that now."

It's been dried up since October, and it's not uncommon here.

"Over the last six years we've had four drying events, where there's been absolutely no water at all in this section," Mr Jennings said.

The problem is, when rivers dry up, the wildlife leaves. The River Chess is home to kingfishers, rare water voles and several species of fish.

The WWF warns 550 bodies of water in England and Wales are at risk of drying out.

Its report says over-abstraction and poor management are to blame.

Put simply, consumers and agriculture are taking out too much water from our rivers.

The weather doesn't help either. April was one of the driest months on record, prompting fears parts of England and Wales could be heading for a drought.

Tanya Steele, CEO of WWF, said: "This can be avoided if we update the outdated way we manage the demand on our country's limited water supplies. We have already seen the impacts of a drought in some place with rivers drying up or running low.

"As we witness the effects of climate change on our weather, temporary actions simply won't do. The UK Government must urgently set out an ambitious long-term plan for the environment."

The WWF report says the Government has failed to take adequate action and is concerned long-term damage could be done to our waterways.

If a severe drought was to happen, the WWF estimates it could cost the UK £1.3bn per day.

A spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told Sky News "We recognise the need to improve water management. That is why we are committed to reforming abstraction licensing into a simplified, modern system that is fairer and more resilient.

"The Environment Agency has already made significant changes to over 250 abstraction licences and we are examining a range of ways to further protect the environment, including legislative or regulatory changes."