About

The Work of the Test & Itchen Association

The Test and Itchen Association is dedicated to conserving and protecting the Hampshire chalkstreams of the Test & Itchen Catchment and the River Meon. The Test, Itchen and Meon rivers are extremely rare habitats. They are three of only about 200 chalk streams in the world. Chalk streams are under threat from pollution and over extraction of water. Both the River Test and the River Itchen are classified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with the Itchen additionally designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

The Test & Itchen Association is working to protect these precious rivers and restore them to health. We can’t do this alone. We need Southern Water to do more. We need the support of Government, local authorities, farmers and the local community.

Water quality monitoring River Test
Elizabeth Dalziel Info Info

Our Work

We monitor and counter threats to the ecological health of the Rivers – principally to water quality from sewage and pollution and from over abstraction. 

We have established:

32 of 48 sites on the Water Quality Monitoring Network

A network of River Fly invertebrate monitors who monitor invertebrates and pollution on the rivers on a monthly basis

12 Smart River Sites

We also monitor the potential impact on the health of the rivers from planning applications and raise objections where needed.

We coordinate the weed cut with the Environment Agency to allow the river weed to be cut within specific dates. Our wardens monitor the cutting and clearing down of cut weed to minimise the impact on the fish and fish habitat.

We share river restoration best practice and promote restoration projects to our members through workshops and visits 

Help Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) initiatives

Encourage the removal of barriers to migratory fish

We promote game fishing on the Test & Itchen and represent the interests of owners, keepers and anglers on these waters. We promote the benefits of fly fishing on the Test & Itchen to the environment, economy and local community. We want to encourage more people to take up fly fishing and secure its popularity on the Test & Itchen for years to come.

We work closely with partner organisations to advocate for the protection of the Hampshire chalk streams and campaign for changes to be made where the health of the rivers or the river habitat is under threat. We also participate in national campaigns and lobbying for policy changes to safeguard or restore rivers. This is an area of work we aim to do a lot more of in the future as the threats to our rivers become more stark.

The Association supports and sponsors research projects aimed at developing a better understanding of the river environment. We are happy to facilitate appropriate student dissertations and projects that aim to broaden the understanding of our rivers and the risks to their future. Previous work has included a study on the impact of fish farming on the Test and Itchen, an appraisal of the condition of the rivers, including the effect of river flows on water quality and pollution levels and a study of algal growth on the rivers. We have also sponsored studies of aquatic plants and the effects of stocking brown trout. 

Do you think you may have a relevant research project?

If you are a student or an academic with a project in these areas, please contact us for further discussion.

On request, we run river visits and workshops to explore different approaches to river management.  We can also arrange training courses on subjects such as river fly (invertebrate) monitoring. If you are looking for a training day along Test or Itchen, please contact us.

In the past, the Association has found it necessary to take legal action to deal with serious threats to the river environment. It has also fought applications for water abstraction, gravel extraction and the discharge of effluents. It has prevented the establishment of navigation rights on the River Itchen because of the damage this would cause to the ecosystem.