Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy February 2013 A licensing strategy to manage water resources sustainably Reference number/code LIT 5356 We are the Environment Agency. It's our job to look after your environment and make it a better place - for you, and for future generations. Your environment is the air you breathe, the water you drink and the ground you walk on. Working with business, Government and society as a whole, we are making your environment cleaner and healthier. The Environment Agency. Out there, making your environment a better place. Published by: Environment Agency Horizon House Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AH Tel: 0370 8506506 Email: [email protected] www.environment-agency.gov.uk © Environment Agency All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy 1 Map 1: Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS (Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy) area. Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy 2 Foreword Water is the most essential of our natural resources, and it is our job to ensure that we manage and use it effectively and sustainably. Our rivers and groundwater resources support a diverse range of wildlife and habitats, yet with population growth and the latest climate change predictions, our water resources are under increasing pressure to support the needs of society, the economy and the environment. This licensing strategy sets out how we will manage water resources in the Worcestershire Middle Severn catchment, provides information on how existing abstraction is regulated and if water is available for further abstraction. The plan will also detail how it protects our requirements under the Water Framework Directive, ensuring no ecological deterioration to our rivers. I t is important that our activities today do not damage the environment or water supplies of the future. We have a shared responsibility to use water wisely, in the home, at work and for recreational activities, a challenge this licence strategy will help us to meet. Dafyd d Evans Area Manager- Midlands West Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy 3 Contents Map 1 Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area ............................................. 2 1. About the Licensing Strategy ........................................................................... 5 2. Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area ..................................................... 7 3. Water resource availability in the Worcestershire Middle Severn area ........ 9 4. How we manage abstractions in the Worcestershire Middle Severn area . 16 Glossary of terms ................................................................................................ 27 List of abbreviations ........................................................................................... 28 Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy 4 1. About the Licensing Strategy This Licensing Strategy sets out how water resources are managed in the Worcestershire Middle Severn area. It provides information about where water is available for further abstraction and an indication of how reliable a new abstraction licence may be. This strategy was produced in February 2013 and it supersedes the strategy issued in December 2006. How Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies (CAMS) contribute to achieving environmental objectives under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) The Water Framework Directive’s main objectives are to protect and enhance the water environment and ensure the sustainable use of water resources for economic and social development. CAMS set out how we will manage the water resources of a catchment and contribute to implementing the WFD. CAMS contribute to the WFD by: providing a water resource assessment of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries and groundwater referred to as water bodies under the WFD; identifying water bodies that fail flow conditions expected to support good ecological status; preventing deterioration of water body status due to new abstractions; providing results which inform River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). When is an abstraction licence required? In most situations you need a licence from us if you want to abstract more than 20m3/day (4 400 gallons) of water per day from a: river or stream reservoir, lake or pond canal spring or an underground source Whether or not a licence is granted depends on the amount of water available after the needs of the environment and existing abstractors are met and whether the justification for the abstraction is reasonable. If you want to apply for an abstraction licence or make changes to a licence that you already have then, please contact us: by telephone on 03708 506 506 by email at [email protected] or visit our website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk. Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy 5 Sustainable abstraction This licensing strategy has been produced using evidence and information gathered during the CAMS process. Through this process we consider the impact of abstraction at all flows. This helps to manage future abstraction more sustainably. We now assess water resources at a sub-catchment level called water bodies. This means that we can provide more detailed information on the availability of water resources in the Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area compared to the scale used in the previous strategy. Within this strategy we also outline where we may need to reduce current rates of abstraction and our approach on time limiting licences. The background, aims and principles of CAMS, the over arching principles we use when managing abstraction licences and links with other initiatives are detailed in our document: Managing Water Abstraction. You should read Managing Water Abstraction when reading this catchment specific licensing strategy. Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy 6 2. Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area 2.1 Catchment Overview The Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area encompasses just over 1000 km2 of central England. The area lies directly west of the West Midlands conurbation and covers parts of the counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. The towns of Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Telford and parts of Bridgnorth, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Bromsgrove lie within the CAMS area. The southern tip of the CAMS includes the outskirts of the historic town of Worcester. Hydrology The Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area comprises of numerous tributaries and several larger rivers such as the Stour and Worfe, all of which eventually flow into the River Severn. The CAMS area is effectively divided in two by the River Severn, with catchments to the West displaying less developed characteristics than the heavily influenced watercourses to the East side of the Severn. The section of the River Severn that passes through the Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS is excluded from the Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS as it is included in the Severn Corridor CAMS. The catchments of the River Salwarpe, River Stour, River Worfe, Battlefield Brook and Hadley Brook are included in the CAMS area. These natural drainage boundaries comprise the boundary of the Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS. The Dick Brook, Borle Brook and Mor Brook all lie within the western part of the CAMS area. A number of historic canals lie within the area including the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Droitwich Canal. Hydrogeology The area contains significant quantities of groundwater contained in the Permo-Triassic Sandstone aquifer. The Permo-Triassic Sandstones are high yielding aquifers that support significant abstraction for public water supply, industry, agriculture and domestic use. Consequently the groundwater is very heavily abstracted, with most abstractions being made by historic licences. New groundwater licences have not been granted from the Permo-Triassic sandstone aquifer in this area for many years. The area also contains strata with more variable permeability where water is encountered in sufficient but lower quantities and these are capable of supporting locally important abstractions for both agricultural and domestic purposes. Land Use The Worcestershire Middle Severn CAMS area is, for the most part, rural. That said there are a number of urban areas, including Telford, Kidderminster, and parts of the Black Country and Worcester. The east is generally urban and the west rural, with the majority of the west given over to agricultural production. There are a number of ancient woodlands between Hampton Lovett and Hawford; the largest of these are Nunnery Wood at Westwood and Knight’s Grove Wood near Ombersley. There are also a large number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the catchment, and one Special Area of Conservation (SACs) at Fens Pools, Dudley. This has been designated for the presence of the Great Crested Newt. Topography The CAMS area is relatively low-lying, with only the Clent Hills to the southeast and The Wrekin to the north exceeding 300m above sea level. The area is generally higher and more undulating to the northwest and becomes lower and flatter as the River Severn matures to the south. Environment Agency Worcestershire Middle Severn Abstraction Licensing Strategy