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Home , River Lark

An overview of water Management, its Needs and Balances

Kelvin Allen Angling Trust Eastern Region Chairman

Presentation Retired BT Manager Involved in Fisheries & Chalk Aquifer Alliance Environment Management since 2010 Bury Water Meadows Group Lark Catchment Partnership Water Needs and Balances River Lark at Flood Impacts on Drought Business Abstraction Homes & Impacts on Land Fish & Aquatic life

From To Flood Drought

https://riverlevels.uk/lark-fornham-all-saints-fornham-st-martin Water Needs and Balances CAMS Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy

Zero Summer Water Available

Users Environment

Housing Rivers Agriculture Wetlands Source https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cams-old--including-middle-level-abstraction-licencing Managed Fen Protected Areas Today’s Pressures North West Developments 14,200 new homes by 2030

That requires 1.4m Cubic metres of water annually

All the upstream catchments of the Nene, Ouse & Wensum have similar plans

Save our Rivers Water Resources East – Is starting to look at the strategic planning for water

But the Homes, Reed beds and Food needs are here right now!

Where is all this water coming from? Sources The New Local Plans for Cambridge Is there any water left for the Environment? and South Today’s Pressures Getting the Balance Water Needs Potatoes Average annually 97mm Reedbed Average annually 160mm

The Great Fen Reedbed currently that’s 53,000 Cubic Metres for 33 Ha

Nearby the Ouse Fen is planning 460 Ha into managed Reedbed, that’s a whopping 736,000

Jointly that’s an equivalent to 8000 homes Where the spills into the Cambridgeshire Fens, a reed bed is coming to life. Hanson and the RSPB are working These are all challenging the water environment and together, transforming a working sand and more demand for water. gravel quarry into Ouse Fen nature reserve. Sources When it is complete, Ouse Fen will boast Wissey Catchment Project the biggest reed bed in the UK. Today’s Pressures Lets now consider waste water Cambridge North West Developments 14,200 new homes by 2030

That is an additional Phosphate load 91mg/day for a 1 bed dwelling 253mg/day for a 4+bed dwelling.

All the upstream catchments across the region have similar plans

Save our Rivers

East Anglia has the largest growth in the UK. Now is not the time to cut back on investment.

But the Environment and our Rivers need protection here right now! This is why investment across AWS Sources The New Local Plans for Cambridge is higher than the UK average and River Mease SAC Developer Contribution Scheme Case Study

East Anglia has the largest housing growth in the UK, set against some of the highest volume of protected habitats Should consideration be given to a Developer Contribution Scheme to work in parallel with the water industry investments as a sustainable way forward? This is working with North West Leicestershire District Council and 3 LPA’s bringing growth and environmental protection Save our Rivers This is why investment across AWS Whilst not impacting customers bills Sources Map of Anglianis Regionhigher than the UK average SSSi Units https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/

Lark - Operational Catchment Summary Measures

Reasons for not achieving good status and reasons for deterioration in this Operational Catchment The table below shows the number of reasons for not achieving good status (RNAGS) and reasons for deterioration (RFD), split by sector UKTAG definition of flow measures

Schematic representation of a mitigation flow regime based on the recommended flow building blocks

This presented for WFD proposes measured by flow and % of time. River Lark at Fornham St Martin

So how much time is within high and lows flows? What is the flow needed to protect the environment?

https://riverlevels.uk/lark-fornham-all-saints-fornham-st-martin The Flow Duration Curve (FDC) Water Availability and CAMS Resource Status & Modelling

Hands off Flow

Measured by flow and % of time

WFD sets a target of actual flow not breaking Q95 (18days per year)

Hands of Flow policy reached at Q33 for new licences only Historic licences have constraints based around Q95 only

Where the EFI crosses the fully licenced abstraction (120 days per year) The Flow Duration Curve (FDC) Water Availability and CAMS Resource Status & Modelling

EFIs are used to indicate where abstraction pressure may start to cause an undesirable environmental impact. Compliance or non-compliance with the EFI is not a mandatory target or objective for resolving unsustainable abstractions.

It is an indicator of where water may need to be recovered.

Water is available for licensing where the Full Licensed scenario is still above the EFI Flows are over licensed where the Full licensed scenario is below the EFI. Future Increase in licence use may impact on ecology

Flows are over abstracted where the Recent actual scenario is below the EFI Current licence use may be impacting on ecology. River Lark Flow Duration Curves and Environmental Flow Indicator to Abbey Gardens (hung from natural) & LOCAL HOF

160

Nat, 24.4 Ml/d 140 His, 21.1 Ml/d

Rec Act, 21.5 Ml/d 120 Full Lic, 20.4 Ml/d

EFI 100

It’s over licenced! HOF5 Flow, Ml/d Flow, 80 It’s actual abstraction is above licenced! Both sit above the required Environmental Flow 60 This is the case for around 50% of the time That’s circa 1.5ml/d or 273ml annually 40 or an equivalent of 100 Olympic Pools

20 Why historic licenses with little constraint

38 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Flow %ile i.e. percentage of the time flow is exceded River Lark Hawstead to Abbey Gardens

Actions: National Environment Program

The hands off flow conditions are included on the PWS abstraction licences. Interim hands off flow conditions apply between 25th March 2015 and 30th March 2025 and final hands off flow conditions apply from 1st April 2025.

Capping of licensed quantities (proposed effective April 2025) to the historical maximum taken between 2005-2015 for licences:

Theoretical a 31% and 57% reduction in fully licensed rates.

Forcing Anglian Water to review their abstractions at 27 points on the Lark So what’s being done to resolve this?

Lark defined as a Priority Catchment for Abstraction Set against a seemingly failing CAMS process with review against HOF DEFRA Abstractions Reform Policies Current Environment Bill lobbying on compensation Regulation strength in policy to protect environmental damage Set against historic abstraction licences with little environmental protection Cranfield modelling agriculture needs with LCP Needs a localised slow the flow initiative So what’s being done to resolve this?

Do we have enough water for our needs of today and the future Regional forecast deficit is between 23-72% of today’s daily use of 2311ml/d

Who owns our water as part of the national infrastructure Stakeholders engaged and raised awareness Medium term licence review (2025) on PWS Needs a long term strategic solution that treats water as core infrastructure Needs a regulatory framework that’s supports this This is where WRE fits to fill the wide gap in our infrastructure needs So what’s being done to resolve this?

Water for Tomorrow Catchment scale integrated water resource management

Aim Improve access to water and protect the environment in climate change vulnerable and water scarce catchments Outputs Longmanagement-term multi-sector Catchment Plan & Catchment Rules Catchment Management System

English Partners WRE, & Rivers Trust

English Pilot Catchments Broadland, CAMEO & East So what’s being done to resolve this?

Chalk Steams First A Permanent and Sustainable Solution to the Chilterns Chalk-Streams Crisis

Chalk-Streams First is a radical, new idea for a scheme aimed at the early “re-naturalising” of flows in the Chilterns chalk-streams.

It is based on the principle of allowing the chalk- streams first use of water that is currently managementabstracted directly from the chalk aquifer, but with a potentially small net loss to regional water supply.

Interestingly where are the statutory bodies on the core list. River Lark at Abbey Gardens

So how do we resolve this?

Fish rescues July 2018 River Lark at Sicklesmere Something to consider?

• Lets hold the water rather than expel it • Manage the flow using natural features • Create a working data model • Flood Defence compliance Use the natural flood plain • Fish passage compliance • Potential funding from AWS • Potential scope of ELMS funding • Bring land owners on board • Future proof against climate change • Who should drive this • Is this a model for other chalk streams https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/confirm- location?easting=585252&northing=265170&placeOrPostcode=bury%20st%20ed River Lark at Sicklesmere Potential Model

1.8 Take the existing data Model excess flow 1.6

Jun-18 <------> Nov-19 1.4 19 months

1.2

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

avg_level Linear (avg_level) https://riverlevels.uk/lark-great-whelnetham-sicklesmere River Lark at Sicklesmere Potential Model

1.8 Take the existing data Model excess flow 1.6

Set against HOF Jun-18 <------> Nov-19 1.4 19 months

1.2

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2 HOF = 0.25m or 10ml/d 0

avg_level Managed Level https://riverlevels.uk/lark-great-whelnetham-sicklesmere River Lark at Sicklesmere Potential Model

1.8 Take the existing data 600 Model excess flow 1.6

Storage capacity 470ml Set against HOF Jun-18 <------> Nov-19 500 1.4 Define storage capacity 19 months

1.2 Source natural flood plain 400

1

300

0.8

0.6 200

0.4

100

0.2

0 0

Storage ml avg_level Managed Level Linear (avg_level) https://riverlevels.uk/lark-great-whelnetham-sicklesmere 0.25 - 1.2m

Estimation 750m x 160m x 1.2m @ 134,000 Cubic m @ 28 acres

0.5 – 1.2m

Sicklesmere Gauging Station Normal Levels 0.23 – 1.3

https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/confirm- location?easting=585252&northing=265170&placeOrPostcode=bury%20st%20ed Sicklesmere Gauging Station Normal Levels 0.23 – 1.3

0.5 – 1.2m

1.4 – 1.6m

Estimation 1200m x 200m x 1.4m @ 336,000 Cubic m @ 59 acres

https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/confirm- location?easting=585252&northing=265170&placeOrPostcode=bury%20st%20ed East Anglian Non Public Water Supply Abstractions

Large volume but relative small quantity compared to PWS Focussed on Fenland It’s a wonder there any water left for fish to swim!

https://environment.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer