Rivers and canals in Bath and North East Somerset

Use this page to learn about our rivers and canals and why they're so important to the local area, as well as the partnership projects we're involved with to improve our waterways. 

Our rivers and canals are a vital part of our rich environment in Bath and North East Somerset because they:

• provide habitat for wildlife through our towns, cities, and rural areas
• provide off-road recreational and sustainable travel routes
• provide mooring opportunities for people living on and visiting by the water
• provide new opportunities for development on former industrial sites, creating new neighbourhoods, retail and commercial spaces
• increase flood resilience by storing and moving water

Partnership Projects

Our waterways provide countless benefits for local people and wildlife. We are working with our partners on projects to manage, maintain and improve our waterways.

WaterSpace Programme

The WaterSpace Programme is the umbrella name for projects taking place on and next to our waterways. The programme came from the WaterSpace Study which identified a series of projects to 'revitalise our waterways'. The study identified two of our strategic green infrastructure projects:

Bath River Line

Bath River Line is an urban project to regenerate the river corridor through Bath. The project aims to create a 10km linear park from Newbridge to Batheaston.

Read more about the Bath River Line

WaterSpace Connected

WaterSpace Connected is a large-scale, green infrastructure project following the River Avon from Bath to Bristol. The first phase of the project is focused around Keynsham and the delivery of a walking and cycling bridge across the Avon.

Read more about WaterSpace Connected

WaterSpace Study

The WaterSpace Study was a collaboration between Bath & North East Somerset Council, Environment Agency, Canal & River Trust and Wessex Water. It included a suite of projects designed to improve our waterways, many of which are delivered as part of our WaterSpace programme.

Read more about the WaterSpace Study

River water monitoring

You can find out which river water issues we deal with as a council and report relevant issues by visiting our environmental protection webpages. 

We are the Lead Local Flood Authority and we work closely with the Environment Agency on pollution and flooding issues.