As we bask or wilt (depending on your view) in this hot weather one thing we can be sure of is the increased likelihood of drought.
Most of England is already classified as seriously water stressed. Estimates suggest there will be a deficit of 4 billion litres of water a day by 2050 if we want secure water supplies and a healthy environment.
Despite this, water resources – or the lack of them – only rise up the public agenda when drought is upon us.
The master variable
Flow is, of course, the master variable for rivers. Get the flow right and it can hide a magnitude of sins. Get it wrong, and its very bad news for all river-life, including fish.
Sufficient flows keep the water cooler and oxygenated and wash out excess silts and sediments. Flow also dilutes the chemicals and nutrients entering rivers from the surrounding landscape.
Reduced flow:
We need to ‘control the controllable’s’
One of the few things I agree with Sir James Bevan (Chief Executive of the Environment Agency) on is his announcement last week is that humanity is closer than ever to catastrophic biodiversity loss.
Surely this should be a wake-up call to all of us that we need to ‘control the controllable’ in our fight to protect the environment.
We cannot control droughts, but we can reduce the pressure we put on rivers and wildlife. We must reduce over-abstraction of rivers and groundwaters through increased infrastructure and tackle water pollution to increase resilience within these environments. Otherwise, freshwater species, already declining quicker than any other, face a very bleak future.
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In July, Southern Water submitted a drought permit application to the Environment Agency (EA). The permit, if granted, will ...
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I couldn’t agree more Janina. I retired from River Keeping the lower Wylye (Wilton Fly Fishing Club) after 17 Seasons in 2017 but maintain a great interest in supporting any group that can fight all the corners.
The 30 year battle it took, (mainly Anglers), to get Wessex Water to reduce abstraction from the Wylye’s aquifer sources and invest heavily in a new 50 miles Water Transfer pipeline from Corfe Mullen to Heytsbury is an example of just how long it can take to get the Water Co’s to invest for the future. Give my regards to Paul Knight.
I couldn’t agree more Janina. I retired from River Keeping on the Lower Wylye after 17 seasons in 2017. This river had over abstraction & it took over 30 years of mainly angler campaigning to get WW to invest heavily in a 50 mile water Transfer Pipeline to permit a reduction in abstraction from the Wylye’s aquifer sources. Give my regards to Paul Knight.