World Rivers Day

Overview of World Rivers Day

World Rivers Day Is a celebration of the World’s Waterways. It takes place on the fourth Sunday of every September and highlights the many values of our waterways, as well as working to increase public awareness of rivers and encouraging better quality water stewardship.

So why should you care? Hopefully, that will become clear later in this article. But first, some brief contextual background:

In 2005, the United Nations launched the Water for Life Decade to help create a greater awareness of the need to better care for our water resources. Following this, the establishment of World Rivers Day was in response to a proposal initiated by Canadian river advocate, Mark Angelo.

Two decades previously, Angelo had founded and set up BC Rivers Day in Canada. Initially hosting small scale conservation and education events, it grew to become one of the most important conservation events in British Columbia.

A World Rivers Day event was seen by agencies of the UN as a good fit for the aims of the Water for Life Decade and Angelo’s proposal to set up World River Day gained UN approval. The first event took place in 2005 and the event has continued to grow worldwide ever since.

World Rivers Day 2024

The 2024 World Rivers Day is on September 22nd. According to its website, many events are planned worldwide:

In England, the Thames Festival will involve most boroughs of London and is part of the month-long Totally Thames event – an annual season of unique arts and culture running the 42-mile stretch of the Thames, working with artists, local communities, river interest organisations and businesses. Events include pop-up performances, boating events, art installations, river clean-ups, live performances, talks and workshops.

In Italy a major clean-up will take place on the banks of the River Tiber in Rome. For years, volunteers have been cleaning and refreshing the banks of this historic waterway and every September sees a peak in activity.

In the Czech Republic, the Prague Institute for Planning & Development is planning a one day festival called ‘Get to Know the Vitava River’.

Many events are also scheduled to take place across the world; in all, over 100 countries will participate.

Protect our Rivers

The reason why anyone should care is that rivers and watercourses the world over are in grave danger.

Although we have come a long way from Victorian times (when raw sewage flowed through the gutters, into the drains and straight into the local stream or river) the amount of poisonous chemicals still discharged into watercourses – and their potential to do harm – is growing year on year.

The difference now is that these are chemicals we know less about; their potential for damage to human health or what they might do to our ecosystem in the longer term are the subject of a lot of current research.

For instance, increasing numbers of antibiotics are becoming less effective. In some patients, and with some diseases, antibiotics are no longer effectual at all. This is due to AMR (Anti-Microbial Resistance) and results from:

• Over-prescribing (not just in humans – often whole herds of animals are given antibiotics) with the unmetabolized residue present in sewerage and agricultural run-off.)
• Illegal dumping of expired products.
• Wastewater and wash-water from pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The fall-out from large quantities of antibiotics in our rivers and waterways is not just affecting humans; off-shore aquaculture is also at risk. Fish stocks are often treated with antibiotics at various life stages but stock losses are increasing. One reason postulated is AMR.

PFAS Pollution in our Rivers

Endocrine disruptors (present in many commonly used household products including some cosmetics, food and beverage packaging, toys, carpet, and pesticides) are also on the increase in our rivers and waterways.

According to the US-based Endocrine Society: ‘Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manmade (sic) chemicals used as oil and water repellents and coatings for common products including cookware, carpets, and textiles. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals do not break down when they are released into the environment, and they continue to accumulate over time.’

PFAS chemicals are known to contaminate drinking water near manufacturing facilities where these chemicals are used. Contamination has also been found in water near manufacturing facilities as well as military bases and firefighting training facilities where foam containing PFAS is used.

These so-called ‘forever chemicals’ can have a devastating effect on marine life; their effects can then pass through the food chain. They also enter the food supply through food packaging and even contaminated soil. New research also indicates that PFAS are dispersed through the air over long distances too.

Some classes of PFAS are starting to be banned in some European countries as well as in the US. But regulation in many countries is far behind the science.

Why is World River Day Important

Almost every WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plant) discharges into rivers and watercourses. Most WWTPs don’t treat many of the most harmful pollutants contained in sewage. Pollutants like PFAS, antibiotics, and many harmful solvent-based compounds flow straight through.

Additionally, many manufacturing companies are obliged to treat their wastewater before discharge into sewers and watercourses but inevitably most will only treat to current discharge regulations. When wastewater is too heavily polluted, many tanker it away to be incinerated offsite (itself a highly polluting process.)

All this means that most of these ‘manufactured’ (or synthetic) pollutants are being discharged into our rivers and waterways without treatment. Essentially, we’re looking at an environmental disaster as concerning as climate change – which most of the world is totally unaware of.

So it’s vitally important to focus attention on rivers and waterways and to inform and educate regulators and the public on this dire situation. Without events like World River Day, most people may be totally unaware.

Benefits of Sustainable Aquaculture

Aquaculture is a massive industry worldwide and the proportion of farmed fish as opposed to wild-caught is growing yearly. But offshore aquaculture has more than its fair share of issues, exacerbated by increased pollution in watercourses and rivers as we’ve shown. Fish stocks are more likely to suffer from losses because of this.

As a result, more on-shore facilities are being built. These RAS (Recirculatory Aquaculture System) facilities allow greater control over the water using the latest water treatment techniques and minimise pollution from antibiotics and other recalcitrant pollutants.

For more information on this more sustainable method of fish farming, see this article on the Arvia website.

Arvia Role in Protecting our Rivers

In the last decade, new industrial water treatment techniques have emerged that can remove from water many endocrine disruptors, nicotine, agrochemicals, battery chemicals, corrosion inhibitors, pharmaceuticals and hard-to-break down chemical ingredients.

These are all based on electrochemistry – not a new process, but one that has been recently refined and augmented, also incorporating adsorption techniques in some.

One of the leading companies in this field is Arvia Technologies – a UK-based company with offices and labs in China, India and the USA.

Arvia’s treatment systems include Nyex Rosalox and Ellenox™ – two revolutionary systems specifically designed for tertiary water treatment, both delivering spectacular (up to parts per billion) results treating many recalcitrant pollutants.

To see how Arvia Technology could benefit many water treatment systems worldwide, check the Arvia website or make contact to set up a one-to-one consultation with a water science expert.