Environment Agency steps up monitoring of rivers

thanks for putting that up. i think any farmland that has grazing fields as well as crops near a river must be given grants to build deep reservoirs. lots of my clubs waters are farm reservoirs and some are potatoe growers. i dont know how much water a 80mtr by 30mtr and 7mtrs deep at one end holds but the potatoe growers dont even half empty it. this water is pumped from a tiny stream in winter and the stream in question is a mere trickle at the moment. in recent years from late autumn to early spring the rivers are in the fields and even the brooks are flooded. we have to harness this extra water.

If it was 7meter deep all over i think it will equate to 16, 800 cubic meters

Chris Daphne wrote:

If it was 7meter deep all over i think it will equate to 16, 800 cubic meters

Andy/Daphne - Think of it as a wedge of cheese, 7mx80mx30m

That would equal 16,800/2 = 8,400 (approximately - depending on how carefully the cheese was cut, also by the amount the mice have eaten...)
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It's a great tragedy that we should still be having these major pollutions, not only in the Thames but in many other waterways and Rivers.

Ultimately, all these problems are due to the fact that there is not enough cheaply exploitable water in the South of the Country, yet every time it rains the EA & the water authorities do everything possible to get that precious water into the sea as quickly as possible.

We need not only many more reservoirs but also a National water grid, which could carry water all over the country.

It should be possible to do this without having to dig lots of tunnels, we already have an under-used canal system that would be tailor made (almost...) for the job.

But then of course, we have to think of the poor shareholders of the utility companies, we wouldn't want them all to have to miss out on their fat dividends, would we?

The idea of a National water grid is not a new one, I can remember it being suggested in the early 60's, around the same time that Richard Walker was forecasting doom for all the rivers ........pretty much right, wasn't he?

love the idea of a national water grid, always thought there's loads of water up north, but never twigged the canals could be used to get it down'ere

James Page wrote:

love the idea of a national water grid, always thought there's loads of water up north, but never twigged the canals could be used to get it down'ere

Perhaps, next time TAC are meeting with the AT, EA or any of the conservation groups, this idea could be put forward..........?

Ater all, we already have a similar system in East Anglia - Excess water is taken from the the Great Ouse at Denver sluice, the water then flows through the Cuttoff channel for 20 or so miles, then via pipelines and pumping stations to the River Stour, it's then piped on to the River Blackwater, and then via tunnels to Abberton and, I think, Hanningfield reservoirs.

This supplies approximately 30% of the total water required for Essex in a dry summer.

If you look at a map, the sources of the Blackwater, Chelmer, Roding and Colne are all located in the same range of hills in North Essex, if just a small amount of that water was piped to headwaters of those rivers it would benefit all of 'em greatly - especially the Roding.

If a similar system was adopted in the west of England, by using mostly canals to transport it, could mean that all that surplus water from Wales and North West England could benefit Birmingham, London and The Thames....................