Home | Recovering the Deben from Source to Sea

Recovering the Deben: From Source to Sea is an ambitious project that aims to restore the land, water, and nature throughout the River Deben catchment and estuary.

Our vision is to recover the River Deben for people to love and wildlife to thrive

Tide Mill at Woodbridge reflected in the calm waters of the River Deben at sunset

Aerial view of the River Deben at Woodbridge, showing boats, marshes, and the town on a sunny day

Close-up of a kingfisher perched on a branch above water

DISCOVER RECOVERING THE DEBEN

Find out how the project began, who’s involved, and how we’re working together to restore the river Deben from source to sea.

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OUR LATEST PROJECT NEWS AND UPDATES

JULY 2026 - DROUGHT DECLARED IN HALF OF ENGLAND BY EA

A large swathe of central, eastern, and southern England is now experiencing a flash drought - which develops very quickly brought about by a combination of very low rainfall and higher temperatures. Rivers are running low, farmers are having to harvest crops early, wildfire risk is increasing, and millions of people are living under restrictions on water use.

JULY 2026 - DCC SHARE JULY ENVIRONMENT MONITORING RESULTS

The Deben Climate Centre have published their latest environmental monitoring results for the River Deben and its tributaries including testing the water for E.coli, phosphates, nitrates, ammonia, and dissolved oxygen. After weeks without any significant rainfall and with two recent heat waves, river levels remain at a low level with many dry sample points.

Read more on the Deben Climate Centre website.

PROJECT THEMES

Recovering the Deben from Source to Sea is a large landscape-scale project that includes five key areas of work. Each of the sections below represents a different focus area - click to explore how we’re restoring natural edges to riverbanks, improving water quality, rebuilding habitat connectivity, utilising natural flood management (NFM) and promoting the value of the river and the water within it.