Editing River Chess (section)

== Human influences ==
The valley has a long history of human habitation. There are a number of [[Roman Britain|Roman]] villa sites along the valley, including Latimer Park. At Sarratt [[strip lynchet]]s can be seen in terraces along the hillside made by the action of ploughing along the slope and thought to have been the site of medieval vineyards.

Human habitation has altered the valley and the river in many ways, not all of them beneficial for wildlife. River modifications such as dredging and widening slow the current, allow silt to accumulate and smother the gravel riverbed. Changes in the land use adjacent to the river can also have impact. Water meadows have been replaced by arable fields and building developments, altering drainage patterns and causing pollution. Abstraction of water from the underlying chalk aquifer reduces river flows and lowers the river's ability to tolerate drought.

The introduction of alien species to the catchment has had a major effect on the wildlife of the river. Water vole populations declined catastrophically along the Chess between 2001 and 2003 with a 97% population decrease being observed. This population crash was caused mainly by the North American [[mink]], a species introduced to the British Isles originally for the fur trade. In 2004 a water vole recovery project was set up by the Chilterns Chalk Streams Project<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chilternsaonb.org/projects/chalk-streams-project.html|title=The Chilterns AONB - Chalk Streams Project|website=www.chilternsaonb.org}}</ref> and the [[Environment Agency]], combining mink control with habitat improvement to try to halt this decline. In 2005 a survey found that the water vole population had recovered to 18% of its 2001 levels.

A less positive story is that of the native [[Austropotamobius pallipes|white-clawed crayfish]], which has suffered at the hands of another American import, the [[signal crayfish]]. Originally imported by the aquaculture industry, the signal crayfish was seen as a way for trout farms to diversify and exploit new markets. However, due to their expert, escapologist nature, signal crayfish soon escaped into surrounding river systems and quickly spread throughout the majority of the UK's southern river system. Signal crayfish have carried [[crayfish plague]], to which they are resistant, but the native white-clawed crayfish is not. The result has been the gradual eradication of native crayfish from the UK's rivers. In the case of the Chess, white-clawed crayfish have been extinct since the mid-1990s.
The Chess is also home to a number of invasive alien plant species including [[Japanese knotweed]], [[Himalayan balsam]] and [[Orange balsam]].

Not all imports have quite such a catastrophic effect. Another escapee into the Chess from fish farms and trout fisheries is the [[rainbow trout]], thought to have been introduced to the Chess in the early 20th century. They have since gone on to establish one of a handful of self-sustaining populations in the UK.

Some of the flow of the Chess results from the outflow of treated sewage from Chesham Sewage Treatment Works, which is material during dry conditions. During heavy rainfall, overflow at the works results in untreated sewage being released to the river.  In 2014, a release persisting 5 months occurred, with substantial effects on river quality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.riverchessassociation.co.uk/chess-under-threat/water-quality.html|title=River Chess Association - Water Quality|website=www.riverchessassociation.co.uk}}</ref> Upgrade works to address the increased flow into the works have subsequently been completed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chesham.gov.uk/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=0aaacc2c-ea95-45c6-b621-65c95a366897|title=Chesham Town Council - Error 404|website=www.chesham.gov.uk}}</ref>