03/02/2005 - The Environment
Agency is inviting people to have their
say on a proposed strategy for managing
the water resources of the River Avon in
Warwickshire, and its tributaries, the rivers
Swift, Leam, Arrow, Sowe, Stour, Isbourne,
Dene, and the Badsey and Bow Brooks.
The ‘Warwickshire Avon Catchment Abstraction
Management Strategy’ (CAMS) consultation
document describes the main characteristics
of the catchment and explains how we have
determined the availability of water for
future licensing. It sets out a proposed
framework for how water resources should
be managed. It does not deal with the issue
of flooding, which is considered separately.
Water is a precious resource and there
are competing priorities between the needs
of public water supply, agriculture, power
companies, industry, navigation and recreation.
The CAMS looks at the existing licensing
system for the removal, or abstraction,
of water from the river, and how water resources
can be protected for the future. The consultation
document invites local people and interested
organisations to comment on a number of
key issues, including:
the impact of these proposals on different
water users
the proposals to open the Offenham gravels
for further water removal (abstractions)
whether the proposals on how we intend
to manage future licencing set out in the
CAMS are clear and well justified
the proposed approach to water management
in the catchment of the Rivers Swift and
Upper Avon and the catchment of the Rivers
Sowe and Sherbourne.
Whether it is correct to assume that revocation
of licences and voluntary reductions of
licensed volumes are low cost to licence
holders
Whether there are recovery options that
we have not considered
Whether there are any other water efficiency
measures we should be promoting the reliance
on winter storage reservoirs and the main
obstacles to this.
CAMS will make more information on water
resources publicly available. It will also
allow the balance between the needs of abstractors
(those who remove water for business or
home use), other water users and the water
environment to be considered, in consultation
with the local community and other interested
parties.
When the strategy is finished, it will
set out the licensing practice for taking
water out of the Warwickshire Avon and its
tributaries, and identify how this should
be managed in a sustainable way. The strategy
will then be reviewed every six years.
Environment Agency Regulatory Officer,
Ines Aguirre, says: "Water is a vital
resource. It is important that we manage
it in a sustainable way so as to protect
it for future generations, but we must regulate
it in a way that is fair to everyone. The
comments that people send in to us will
help us to achieve that balance."
A copy of the consultation document will
be posted on the Environment Agency’s website.
Copies can also be obtained from Ines Aguirre
at the Environment Agency, Lower Severn
Area Office, Riversmeet House, Newtown Industrial
Estate, Northway Lane, Tewkesbury, GL20
8JG, telephone 01684 864455, fax 01684 293599,
or by e-mail request to cams.lowersevern@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Comments and/or queries are welcome and
should be made in writing to Ines Aguirre
at the above address by 8 April 2005.
We are holding a ‘drop-in’ session for
anyone who wishes to discuss the strategy
further. This will be on 10th February,
from 4pm to 6:30pm at Globe House, Priory
Road, Alcester, B49 5DZ.
In addition, Ines Aguirre is willing to
attend meetings (workload permitting) to
discuss the proposed strategy.
Notes
Catchment
According to Chambers Dictionary, a catchment
is ‘the area of land that is drained by
a particular river system or lake.’
Abstraction
Abstraction is the removal of water, either
permanently or temporarily, from rivers,
canals, reservoirs or underground rocks.
The main challenge is to meet the reasonable
needs of abstractors while leaving enough
water in the environment to conserve aquatic
habitats, and for other water users.
Aquifer
A geological formation, group of formations
or part of a formation that can store and
transmit water in significant quantities.
Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies
(CAMS)
The development of CAMS was one of a number
of proposals made by the Government following
a review of the abstraction licensing system
in 1999. There are 129 CAMS areas in England
and Wales, where abstraction is controlled
by a licensing system that was introduced
in 1965. This system is administered by
the Environment Agency. In 1999 the Government
reviewed the licensing system and identified
a number of changes. Foremost among these
was the proposal for Catchment Abstraction
Management Strategies (CAMS). Another key
outcome of the Government’s review was the
decision that abstraction licences should
be time-limited. CAMS will be the mechanism
for managing time-limited licences by determining
whether they should be renewed and, if so,
on what terms.
The Warwickshire Avon catchment
The River Avon is a major tributary of
the River Severn, making a crucial contribution
to its flow and to the fresh water needs
of the Severn Estuary. The Avon rises near
Naseby and flows south-west for approximately
179 kilometres until it joins the Severn
at Tewkesbury. Important tributaries include
the rivers Swift, Leam, Arrow, Sowe, Stour,
Isbourne, Dene, and the Badsey and Bow Brooks.
The Avon catchment covers about 2,900 square
kilometres of central England. It includes
most of Warwickshire, significant areas
of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and
small parts of Oxfordshire, Leicestershire
and Northamptonshire. Coventry is the largest
urban area in the catchment, with a population
of approximately 900,000 people. Other major
cities and towns are Rugby, Leamington Spa,
Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, Evesham, Redditch
and Tewkesbury.
There are approximately 40 scheduled ancient
monuments scattered around the catchment,
and probably many yet to be discovered,
which depend on water levels being maintained
around the sites. They include moats, forge
mills, bridges, medieval settlements, and
castles such as Warwick and Kenilworth.
There are approximately 1,500 current abstraction
licenses in the Avon catchment. They vary
from a few cubic metres a day to a few million
cubic metres a day. They primarily provide
for public water supply (240,000 cubic metres
a day), industry and agriculture (farmers
hold 80% of the licenses).
Despite the large population and significant
industrial activity, agriculture is an important
part of the economy and accounts for 90%
of land use. Traditionally, the main farming
activities have been crop growing, grazing
dairy and beef cattle, with horticulture
and market gardening, especially around
Evesham. Fruits and vegetables produced
in this area supply many supermarkets across
the country.
The irrigation of sport turf is also an
important source of the demand for water.
In the catchment there are racecourses,
golf courses, football pitches and polo
fields, which demand intensive watering.
Rivers, canals and lakes are a popular
recreational resource and an important part
of the character of towns such as Leamington
Spa, Redditch, Stratford–upon-Avon and Evesham.
Nature needs water too. The rivers are
rich in plant communities. Wetland Biodiversity
Plan (BAP) species include otters, white
clawed crayfish, great crested newts and
voles. In the last decade or so the rare
club-tailed dragonfly has moved into the
Lower Avon from the Severn. In particular,
we have targeted the protection of otters
and the creation of wetlands. To help encourage
otters to breed, it is important that water
quality and quantity is not compromised.
Water level and flow are important to the
declining populations of water vole.
The CAMS aims to find a balance between
these competing needs.
The catchment has significant groundwater
resources stored in the major aquifers around
the Coventry, Warwick, Kenilworth and Bromsgrove
areas. Aquifers along the Cotswold scarp
are also a major resource as well as an
aquifer near Stratford-upon-Avon. All groundwater
resources are also of crucial importance
to the water balance of the catchment.
