fo b WOfjTv\ B A S '-' feo/ £ ^ Environment Agency The River Derwent rises on Fylingdales Moor and flows southwards across the North York Moors. The Sea Cut, a man-made channel, connects the Derwent to the North Sea near Scarborough. The Derwent catchment North Sea As the river turns west, just north of Willerby, it is joined by the River Hertford. The Derwent crosses the Vale of Pickering and as it turns south it is joined by its main Total catchrpent population: tributary, the River Rye. Approximately 100,000 In the lower reaches of the Derwent Total catchment drainage area: is Pocklington Canal, which is fed 2,057 square kilometres by Pocklington Beck. From here the Main tributaries of the Derwent: Derwent continues south to where River Rye and its feeders - the it meets the River Ouse at Barmby. River Riccal, the Seph, Costa Beck, Hodge Beck, the Dove, the The Derwent flows through a Seven, Pickering Beck, Wath Beck predominantly rural area with only and Holbeck. a small amount of light industry Other significant tributaries include the River Hertford, Bielby and the population centred in small Beck and Pocklington Canal. towns and villages. Length: 115.1 kilometres Altitude at source (above sea level or Ordnance Datum): Approximately 260 metres ENVIRONMENT AGENCY I 111 IIIII Environment Agency River factfile 1 How clean are your rivers? The rivers and tributaries in the Derwent area are mainly of Water company investment high water quality. In the upper sections of the river and its pays off case study main tributaries flow through the North York Moors, a Major investment in the sparsely populated moorland area with little industry other environment by Yorkshire Water than farming and fish farming. since 1990 has had a dramatic effect on the quality of the region’s The overall rural nature of this river business to make sure the water rivers and coastal waters. catchment means it has not faced quality of the Derwent is protected The benefits of these the major problems of pollution and, wherever possible, improved improvements are far-reaching. Our from industry that other urban rivers for future generations. watercourses have seen an have. It is still at risk and we have to increase in fish stocks and other keep a close eye on the potential Water quality classification 2004 wildlife and some of our rivers have problems all industries can cause. The River Derwent and its tributaries, undergone a dramatic Agricultural effluents pose a 499.2km transformation. particular problem in rural areas This is good news for conservation and can have devastating and anglers. It is also good news consequences if they find their way for tourism, leisure and the general into a watercourse. quality of life for people living in Silage liquor, which is produced the region. The clean-up of coastal when farmers compress cut grass waters has been fundamental to for winter feed, is around 300 times the vital tourism revenue drawn more polluting than untreated into Yorkshire and for the fisheries sewage. Cattle slurry is highly which keep some coastal polluting and sheep dip chemicals ■ Class A - very good 49.9% communities alive. ■ Class B - good 37% cause problems even at low . Many of the region's cities and concentrations. A single pollution ■ Class C - fairly good 4.5% towns have been able to turn to their incident can cause the deaths of Class D - fair 6.3% waterfronts as an important source many thousands of fish. Class E - poor 2.3% of economic development thanks to Class F - bad 0% Even the beauty of the landscape the clean-up of the rivers running can bring its own problems, through them, which has reduced Class A and B rivers are of a high quality - unsightly and smelly sewage litter particularly during the summer clean enough for salmon and trout to live and improved water quality. months, when a substantial increase in and to be used for drinking water. They in visitor numbers can place also support a variety of invertebrates Water company investment is a considerable strain on undersized (worms, insects etc) including mayflies vital part of ensuring we can protect and stoneflies. rural foul drainage systems. and enhance the environment for Class C and D rivers are often home to coarse present and future generations. The past decade has seen fish such as roach and chub and sometimes improvements in water quality in trout in C waters. These rivers can be used for We continue our work to safeguard most rivers in the north of England drinking water if it is treated and a good rivers, estuaries, underground variety of invertebrate life can be found. thanks to tougher regulation and waters and coastal waters, and investment - and the Derwent is no Class E rivers can still support coarse fish work with other industries to but cannot be used for drinking water. exception to this. reduce pollution and discharges to Class F rivers are badly polluted. Worms the environment. Our officers will continue to work and midges can live in them but fish with water companies, the cannot. agricultural community, industry and 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 factflle “The high quality waters of the Derwent are home to a wide variety of fish, from the brown trout that dominate the fast flowing streams across the North York Moors to the considerable stocks of coarse fish in the lower reaches.” Shaun McGinty, Environment Agency fisheries officer Fisheries As well as brown trout, the larger over-wintering areas. In an effort to streams on the southern fringes of tackle this problem, fish havens the North York Moors also support have been created and the recently grayling and the area’s spring-fed completed Malton flood defence tributaries supply a number of fish scheme included work to benefit farms producing both brown and fish stocks. rainbow trout. We have also installed fish passes South of the moors, where the at Stamford Bridge and Kirkham gradients are gentler, there are Abbey to allow coarse and some salmonids but coarse fish, migratory stocks to overcome especially chub, dace roach and barriers and travel upstream to gudgeon, dominate stocks. The spawn. Derwent is notable for its Downstream of Sutton-on Derwent substantial stocks of pike and over the main river used to be tidal but recent years perch have become the installation of Barmby Barrage more numerous. has largely eliminated salt water. Between the confluence with the AsAs a result flounders have River Hertford and the town of disdisappeared whilst fish favouring Malton the lower sections of lowlow flows, such as roach and perch, several tributaries have suffered ha\have increased. from canalisation. This is where A|| All three British species of lamprey, artificially straight channels have a rare and protected fish, can be been created in the past to improve ^ J found in the Derwent catchment. navigation. This has reduced the number of spawning, nursery and Environment Agency River factflle 3 ____ I______ Wildlife and conservation Rare and protected species, including otters, water voles 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. The Derwent catchment is home to important site for blanket bog, floodplains, is recognised fora many sites of national and heathland and for its breeding wide variety of wildlife interests international importance for birds. The River Derwent from the including lowland hay meadows, wildlife. The diverse countryside confluence with Rye Mouth is a over-wintering waterfowl and offers a range of habitats from open Special Site of Scientific Interest for breeding wetland birds. moorland in the upper catchment its wide variety of aquatic plants to lowland floodplain lower down and insects. It is also designated We are continuing our work with the system. for its internationally important many other organisations to protect species such as otters, lampreys and improve these valuable habitats In the upper catchment many of the and water crowfoot. and the wildlife they attract. tributaries start their journey in the North York Moors, much of which is The Lower Derwent Valley, which designated as an internationally includes the river and adjacent More concentrated populations of water voles are found around the confluence of the Derwent and the Hertford. Otter activity is regularly seen in Malton. Native white-clawed crayfish are found in the upper catchment both in the Derwent itself (Forge Valley) and other tributaries such as the River Rye (Nunnington/Duncombe Park). Lowland hay meadows in the lower Derwent valley are important for a variety of birds, insects, wildflowers and grasses. Water crowfoot is found in faster flowing stretches such as Kirkham, the centre of Malton and on tributaries such as the River Rye. The increasingly rare greater water parsnip are found in the lower Derwent valley. Pollution watchdog Pollution prevention and control is a vital part of our work. We are responsible for regulating many industrial processes to make sure they are not damaging the environment. Major investment by industry over ■ practices. the past couple of decades, as Some of these are caused by the well as much tougher limits on collapse of lagoon walls, leading to discharges to air, land and water, the release of slurry, which runs have all had benefits for the across land into watercourses and environment.