River Factfiles the Swale, Lire and Ouse Catchment We Are the Environment Agency
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^ Environment Agency River factfiles The Swale, Lire and Ouse catchment We are the Environment Agency. It’s our job to lookafteryour environment and ma future generations. Your environmeiv water you drink and the ground' E n v i r o n m e n t A g e n c y usiness, Government anc Information Services Unit environment cle Please return or renew this item by the due date The Environmen Due Date your environment a better place. Published by: Environment Agency Rivers House 21 Park Square South Leeds LSI 2QG Tel: 08708 506 506 Email: [email protected] www.environment-agency.gov.uk © Environment Agency All rights reserved. This document may he reproduced with prior permission of Ihe Environment Agency. The River Swale begins as a small series of becks on the Northern Pennines within the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park. It flows eastwards along Swaledale and passes through Richmond and Catterick before turning south eastwards to join the Ure at Boroughbridge. The River Ure also rises on the Pennines just south of the Swale and becomes known as the River Ouse at the point where Ouse Gill Beck runs in. The Swale, Ure and Ouse catchment Arkli ICHMOND itOMPfrON- -sw> River Swale KIPLIN HALb\ River ske SWALEDALE CA1 :r ic k River Swale liver Ure NORTHALLERTON MIDDLEHAM WaTerf JERVAUX ABBFY MASHAMV W^ST . ( TANFlEUD' ' — ' \ ) n o rto n 1 COIIYERS River UreA Rive* lie )N, NEWBY HALL BOROUGHBfi River Skell Total catchment population: FOUNTAINS Approximately 380,000 AB8EY aldboroughN River Ure Total catchment drainage area: Ouse Gill Beet 3,300 square kilometres LINTON- River Ouse ON-OUSE Main tributaries ot the Swale: River Nidd., Arkle Beck, Bedale Beck, River Wiske, YORK Cod Beck. Main tributaries ot the Ure: The Ouse flows south through the ACASTER Widdale Beck, River Bain, Bishopdale city of York to Naburn Weir, below MALBIS Beck, River Cover, River Burn, River which the river is tidal. Skell, River Tutt, River Laver. River Wharfe Main tributaries ot the Ouse: Like other rivers in the upland River Ouse River Foss, River Nidd, River Derwent, Pennines of Yorkshire, the rivers of CAWOOD liver Derwent River Wharfe, River Aire. this catchment generally have good Length: water quality, are suitable for SELBY HEMIMGBROUGH Swale 108.9 kilometres drinking water and support good BARMBY-ON-THE-MARSH Ure 110.9 kilometres fisheries. ORAX ■ Ouse 97.3 kilometres River Aire i River Ouse The River Swale is one of the fastest Altitude at source GOOLE (above sea level or Ordnance Datum): rising rivers in Europe and can rise Swale 500 metres up to almost three metres in an Ure 640 metres hour. This gives Ouse 25 metres erosive power. ENVIRONMENT AGENCY »nt Agency River factfile 1 102030 How clean are your rivers? The upper sections of this catchment are rural and the principal industries are livestock farming, tourism and mineral extraction - all of which exert their own pressures on the environment. Even the beauty of the landscape Agricultural effluents pose a particular Within the urban area there are can bring problems, particularly problem in rural areas and can have some significant industrial areas during the summer months, when a devastating consequences if they which discharge, or release, direct to substantial increase in visitor find their way into a watercourse. the river or via sewage treatment numbers can place considerable Silage liquor, which is produced works. These include the power strain on undersized rural foul generation sites, the food industry in when farmers compress cut grass for drainage systems. and around York and a large winter feed, is around 300 times While the overall rural nature of this more polluting than untreated industrial area in Selby. river catchment means it has not sewage. Cattle slurry is highly Our officers will continue to work faced the problems of pollution from polluting and sheep dip chemicals closely with all the industries in the industry that other urban rivers cause problems even at low Swale, Ure and Ouse catchment to have, it is still at risk. We have to concentrations. A single pollution protect the rivers and the life they keep a close eye on the potential incident can cause the deaths of support and wherever possible, problems all industries can cause. many thousands offish. bring about further improvements. Water quality classification 2004 The River Swale, 370km The River Ure, 395km The River Ouse, 152km The River Ouse Estuary, 22.7km ■ Class A - very good 51.5% Class A - very good 29.8% Class A - very good 0% ■ Class B - fair 100% ■ Class B - good 27.9% Class B - good 29.8% Class B - good 60.4% ■ Class C - fairly good 17.3% Class C - fairly good 40.4% Class C - fairly good 11.7% Estuary classification ■ Class D - fair 0% Class D - fair 0% Class D - fair 8.4% Class A - good, Class B - fair. ■ Class E - poor 3.3% Class E - poor 0% Class E - poor 19.5% Class C - poor, Class D - bad Class F - bad 0% Class F - bad 0% Class F - bad 0%. The clasifications are based on: Biological quality - presence of River classification certain species offish. Class A and B rivers are of a high quality - clean enough for salmon and trout to live in and to be Aesthetic quality - evidence of used for drinking water. They also support a variety of invertebrates (worms, insects etc) including aesthetic pollution e.g. sewage- mayflies and stoneflies. derived litter. Class C and D rivers are often home to coarse fish such as roach and chub and sometimes trout in C Chemical quality - in terms of waters. These rivers can be used for drinking water if it is treated and a good variety of invertebrate dissolved oxygen concentrations. life can be found. A score is allocated for each of can still support coarse fish but cannot be used for drinking water. Class E rivers these categories which are added Class F rivers are badly polluted. Worms and midges can live in them but fish cannot. to determine the overall class. Did you know you can check out the state of your local river by using our website? By accessing the ‘What’s in your backyard’ section you can choose any one of the 7,000 sites where our officers sample and test the water quality. All you need is a postcode or a place name. Check out your river at www.environment-agency.gov.uk. 2 Environment Agency River factfile Water company investment pays off case study Water source Major investment in the environment by Yorkshire Water is essential to life and we have a duty to Water since 1990 has had a make sure our water resources are used properly. dramatic effect on the quality To do this, our officers closely monitor water in of the region’s rivers and coastal waters. the environment. Abstraction licences are issued to regulate who can take water from the The benefits of these improvements are far-reaching. environment and the amount that can be taken Our watercourses have seen an over a period of time. increase in fish stocks and other wildlife and some of our The good quality river and groundwaters in the Swale, Ure and rivers have undergone a Ouse catchment provide a valuable source of water. There are six dramatic transformation. impounding reservoirs in the area, which are formed by This is good news for constructing a dam across the river to store water for public use. conservation and anglers - and In addition to the reservoirs, water is also taken for public water it is also good news for tourism, supply directly from the River Ouse. The groundwaters of the leisure and the general quality catchment also provide valuable water for both domestic and ^ of life for people living in the agricultural use. W region. The clean-up of coastal waters has been fundamental to the vital tourism revenue drawn into Yorkshire and for the fisheries which keep some coastal communities alive. Many of the region’s cities and towns have been able to turn to their waterfronts as an important source of economic development thanks to the clean-up of the rivers running through them. This has Watching the waste reduced unsightly and smelly sewage litter and improved Every year more than 400 million tonnes of waste is water quality. produced in England and Wales, with about 25 Water company investment is a million tonnes of this from households. All this waste vital part of ensuring we can has to be safely handled and disposed of. protect and enhance the environment for present and The great bulk of waste at the moment is disposed of in landfills. future generations. When it breaks down it produces a liquid called leachate, as well We continue our work to as methane gas. Landfill site operators have to make sure this safeguard rivers, estuaries, liquid doesn’t escape into groundwater or rivers by lining their underground waters and sites with impermeable barriers. coastal waters, and work with We regulate the movement and disposal of waste through a other industries to reduce system of licences. We also work with landfill site operators and pollution and discharges to the other businesses to make sure that deposited waste does not environment. pose a risk to the environment. Wildlife and conservation Rare and protected species, including otters, watervoles and our native white-clawed crayfish, are to be found in this river catchment and work is taking place to protect them and their habitats. In the last century, around 17 species of plants and animals became extinct in the UK, emphasising the need to care for our native species and the areas in which they live.