21/06/2005 - The second
driest winter in 100 years has caused the
River Darent’s water levels to drop. In order
to protect the wildlife living there, the
Environment Agency has now switched on a scheme
that will pump much needed water into the
river.
The River Darent, extending from Westerham
to Dartford in Kent, has a history of low
flows. In the early 11000’s the National Rivers
Authority (one of the Environment Agency predecessor
organisations) and Thames Water worked on
the River Darent Augmentation Scheme - a collaborative
project that enabled the river to be supported
in times of need.
Three boreholes were drilled into the underlying
chalk bedrock in the villages of Lullingstone,
Eynsford and Farningham in Kent. When the
river is suffering from very low levels the
scheme enables a total of 4.8 million litres
of water per day to be pumped from these boreholes
and into the river.
Heat combined with low river flows can lead
to environmental problems, impacting on birds
and wildlife as well as river users. The Environment
Agency is concerned about the impact the River
Darent’s current low flows could have on the
environment and has today switched on the
augmentation scheme to help prevent fish and
other wildlife from dying. Water from the
boreholes is now being pumped into the river.
Rob Harding, Environment Agency Field, Monitoring
& Data (Hydrometry) Team Leader, said:
"When rivers have low water levels it
can pose a real threat to fish and other wildlife.
When the levels drop to a certain point it
is a trigger for us to take whatever action
we can to further protect the environment.
This winter and spring has been the driest
since 1976, so the trigger on this scheme
has been activated earlier than we would usually
expect and we decided to turn the pumps.
"This scheme will give the river a helping
hand but water is a very precious resource
so it is essential that we all think about
how much water we are using and how much of
it is necessary. We must all act now to save
water so we can reduce the demand and pressure
on the environment and rivers like the Darent."
The boreholes can be monitored remotely through
a regional telemetry system. This enables
the Environment Agency to see how successful
the scheme is and helps to determine when
the pumps can be switched off. If the rain
returns and the river levels improve, the
pumps will be turned off but the Environment
Agency is expecting to operate the scheme
continuously over the summer months.
