Water Abstraction -Bristol Avon

http://www.wessexwater.co.uk/environment/twocol.aspx?id=488&linkidentifier=id&itemid=488

For anyone who fishes the Bristol Avon, please have a look at the above link:

I dont know if anyone has seen the above, I only found out about this from a chap who lives in my village and is a member of the Friends of the River Bybrook.

Apparently Wessex water are currently investigating increasing abstraction from the Bristol Avon and tribs. I am planning to attaend a meeting on Thursday if I can, in relation to the below:

Wessex Water are proposing to treble their licensed Water abstraction for Stream Support in Malmsbury, which could possibly have an unwelcome effect on water levels in the Bybrook, and affect us all and our local wildlife. Professor Peter Smart will present his final report which was commissioned by the Environment Agency in connection with the above. Two representatives from the Environment Agency will attend this meeting and possibly Luke Devial from Wessex Water

I just thought I'd bring attention to this as I dont want it to happen without anglers knowing about it. Have a look on the website and I will send an update if I manage to attend the meeting.

Simon

What are they going to abstract the water for ? if its for public use,
and looking at link it is, then where else do suggest we get water from, we cant live without it.

stikflote said:

What are they going to abstract the water for ? if its for public use,
and looking at link it is, then where else do suggest we get water from, we cant live without it.

Click to expand...

Thats not really the point here is it. I dont know if you work for Wessex water, but I'd suggest that such companies look for the easiest cheapest option to increase water supply without concern for the effect this may have on the environment.

Obviously you are happy to accept that Water companies act in the best interests of all Stakeholders, I for one am not which is why I wanted to bring this to the attention of anyone who has an interest in the well being and environment of the Bristol Avon.

There are a number of ways to increase water supply, without the need for increased abstraction from rivers. This is the kind of action I would like to see from Wessex water.

The first step is education for the general public on water useage, better maintenance of exisiting water provision. As I see it if you cut down on waste and unesessary water consumption you dont need as much water in the first place, or is this all too simplistic a view?

Everyone should be on a water meter!

May be mend a few water leaks quicker - a few yeasr back Yorkshire water had a hose pipe band and then it was reported how many gallons of water they lost each day from broken pipes they din't repair

The Cherwell can become a trickle in the summer due to over abstraction, and of course topping up a canal which no longer holds water on it's own.
I worked for some years on a golf course which had a licence to abstract 1 million gallons per annum from a river. You do the maths as to how much is removed from a river along it's course.
The whole abstraction licencing needs looking at. It's a joke at the present time. It would appear that it's ok to abstract via a bore hole and lower the water table aswell, which of course in turn lowers the river.
Despite all that is officially said I am convinced that as long as you pay enough money you can have as much as you want.

MUFFIN,i do not work for any one,and when i did it was not a water company
will admit my engines used a lot lol,,i agree as to the leaks should be stopped

but water for fishing and recreation as against drinking water , no contest,if the river runs dry, it runs dry, far too many people

Water is and will be the new oil Just ask the French

A lot less car-washing and lawn-watering, a lot more rather less-showered offspring...

MarkTodd said:

The Cherwell can become a trickle in the summer due to over abstraction, and of course topping up a canal which no longer holds water on it's own.
I worked for some years on a golf course which had a licence to abstract 1 million gallons per annum from a river. You do the maths as to how much is removed from a river along it's course.
The whole abstraction licencing needs looking at. It's a joke at the present time. It would appear that it's ok to abstract via a bore hole and lower the water table aswell, which of course in turn lowers the river.
Despite all that is officially said I am convinced that as long as you pay enough money you can have as much as you want.

Click to expand...

Mark, you are of course very right, its all about money and zilch to do with minimising environmental impact.
The EA's policy of appeasement dictates a never say no approach and so rivers are allowed to run to base levels, regardless of any negative effects that this may incur.

The Cherwell is true testiment to this, abstraction licences are issued to the extent where the river can no longer function as an effective riverine eco system AND THEN BW are free to abstract unquantified amounts licence free for the Oxford canal, while leaving the canals feeder reservoirs; Clattercote, Boddington and Napton brimful to keep there over populated resident carp alive.
All this being reliant on archaic laws, many 200yrs+.

Take a browse through this:
http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/GETH0705BJHS-E-E.pdf



Sorry for hijacking this thread but trust me, you don't want to let your river decline like the Cherwell has.

Update on meeting:

I attended the meeting on Friday, which was very much about the impact specifically on the By Brook, but it obviously does have implications for the whole River Avon catchment.

The presentation and Investigation my Professor smart was a high level statistical analysis, but I will try and summarise as to the best of my layman's understanding! As with any presentation by a expert in their field this it was specifically tailored towards a statistical high level analysis and did not take info account some of the softer not qualitative issues that are present with such a decision.

At the moment Wessex water have a number of bore holes at various points around the Bristol Avon catchment. There are a number of different layers of rock present in the area which influence how water at the head of the river feeds the river levels. Basically there are two water tables, one that supplies the water for all the streams and springs where the water table naturally exits the limestone, and then below this another water table that is sealed by layers of impermeable rock.

Basically Wessex water abstract water for public use from the 'top' water table, this has the impact of reducing the natural water table level which can result in some springs and streams drying up as the water level drops when the water is taken. To counteract the impact of this abstraction Wessex water use something which they call stream support. This involves drilling down into the 'lower' water table, below the layers of impermeable rock and using this water to keep the springs and streams running which otherwise would dry up as the 'top' water table drops with the abstraction.

This stream support is used in periods of dry weather to compensate for the impact the abstraction of the 'top' water table has.

The presentation analysed data from before and after the Malmesbury abstraction scheme was started in circa 1980 to try and see what the impact was of this scheme. My interpretation was that there was no identifiable impact that could be found between the abstraction at Malmesbury and low flows on the river By Brook, suggesting that the stream support works.

The problem with the investigation is that data before the Malmesbury abstraction scheme was started is very patchy, so to draw a conclusion on this basis in my view is slightly questionable, even though professor smart, 'allowed for inconsistencies in the data'.

So basically Wessex water are still planning on extracting 3 times the volume of water as they presently do from Malmesbury, as the investigation from Professor smart did not show any link between low flows and the Malmesbury abstraction scheme.

The main impact on low rivers flows from the data that Professor smart analysed appeared to be the reliance on the By Brook on summer rain fall. Basically the impact of summer rain fall has a much greater impact on water levels than rain in the winter.

In summary it was interesting to find out more about how the Malmesbury abstraction scheme works, but I am still dubious that the evidence is that this scheme has no impact on river flows due to the stream support, which I find hard to believe, given the quantity of water that is being abstracted. It is at least positive that Wessex water are commissioning studies such as this to investigate the impact, but the data being analysed is patchy and as such I dont see how this can be fully relied on. There are a number of measuring stations of the river, and the future monitoring of these will be key to analyse the impact of any further abstraction that may take place.

There are a number of other issues and vagaries mentioned at the meeting, but I dont want to go into all of these and also I dont understand half of them, but hope the above is useful in bringing this situation into the public view. Please feel free to contact me should you have anything to add, I will be requesting a copy of the presentation from Professor Smart.

Simon