Severn Vale Abstraction Licensing Strategy February 2013 A licensing strategy to manage water resources sustainably Reference number/code LIT 3254 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 Severn Vale Abstraction Licensing Strategy 1 Map 1: Severn Vale CAMS (Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy) area. Environment Agency Severn Vale Abstraction Licensing Strategy 2 Foreword W ater 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 Severn Vale 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. Dafydd Evans Area Manager- Midlands West Environment Agency Severn Vale Abstraction Licensing Strategy 3 Contents Map 1 Severn Vale CAMS area ............................................................................ 2 1. About the Licensing Strategy ........................................................................... 5 2. Severn Vale CAMS area .................................................................................... 7 3. Water resource availability in the Severn Vale area ....................................... 9 4. How we manage abstractions in the Severn Vale area ................................ 16 Glossary of terms ................................................................................................ 29 List of abbreviations ........................................................................................... 30 Environment Agency Severn Vale Abstraction Licensing Strategy 4 1. About the Licensing Strategy This Licensing Strategy sets out how water resources are managed in the Severn Vale 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 January 2008. 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 Severn Vale 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 Severn Vale 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 initiative are detailed in our document: Managing Water Abstraction. You should read Managing Water Abstraction when reading this catchment specific licensing strategy. Environment Agency Severn Vale Abstraction Licensing Strategy 6 2. Severn Vale CAMS area 2.1 Catchment Overview The Severn Vale CAMS covers just less than 1000 square kilometres. It spans a large part of Gloucestershire and smaller areas of Herefordshire and Worcestershire and includes the urban centres of Cheltenham and Stroud. Hydrology The CAMS area begins downstream of the Teme and Severn confluence at Worcester, and ends in the Severn Estuary at Lydney on the west bank, and at the mouth of the River Frome on the East Bank. The CAMS area does however extend slightly further south, on the eastern side, incorporating the River Cam to its junction with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. This area includes many of the rivers and brooks that drain into the River Severn, which vary largely in terms of their size and their hydrological characteristics. The River Leadon and River Frome are the dominant catchments in the Severn Vale but the area also incorporates the smaller catchments of Carey’s Brook, Bushley Brook, River Chelt, Hatherley Brook, River Cam, Westbury Brook, Cinderford Brook and the River Lyd. Geology and Hydrogeology An area of Triassic sandstone occurs south of the Malvern Hills and north of Newent and forms the aquifers of Bromsberrow and Oxenhall North and South. To the south east, the Cotswold Hills are composed of Jurassic limestones, bounded by the steep escarpment at their western edge. These limestones constitute the Cotswold aquifer. Throughout the central Vale area Triassic and Jurassic clays and mudstones dominate. There are several other less significant sources of groundwater in strata defined as secondary or non-aquifers. These include aquifers such as the Carboniferous Upper Coal measures and Limestones, a 90km2 outcrop in the Forest of Dean, from which there is a large public water supply abstraction at Buckshaft. Land Use The majority of land within the Severn Vale CAMS area is grassland. Cheltenham and Stroud form the only significant urban centres. Agriculture primarily takes place within the fertile undulating lowlands of the River Leadon and Ell Brook catchments within the North Western region. The land here is classified as being of Grade 1 or 2 in quality and therefore suitable for a wide variety of crops. In recent years, the number of commercial strawberry and cherry farms has increased. Fruit farms make up a large proportion of the agricultural land use, which in total is approximately 40%. Agriculture also makes up about 20% of land use in the north and far south east of the CAMS area. The land quality in these areas is generally Grade 3. Within the Forest of Dean to the South West, the forest dominates the landscape, grassland occupying the majority of the remainder. Topography The topography of the Severn Vale can be divided into five general areas of relief. The Malvern Hills is a prominent ridge reaching 400 metres above ordnance datum (mAOD) and forms the highest ground. To the immediate west and south of this, the land of the River Leadon and Glynch Brook catchments is relatively low lying and gently undulating. High ground is found to the south west of the Severn Vale where the Cotswold escarpment causes the relief to rise steeply, reaching up to the Cotswold Hills at 300mAOD. Within the Forest of Dean area, a wooded series of ridges and basins typify the landscape. The elevation here is between 100mAOD and 200mAOD. As the Severn Vale catchments approach the River Severn the land is typically flat and low lying as this forms part of the River Severn flood plain. Environment Agency Severn Vale Abstraction