Chalkstream Parliamentary Group

A new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Chalkstreams has been formed to consider the challenges facing chalkstreams specifically.

England is home to over 75% of the world’s chalkstreams, which make an unique contribution to global ecology.

As the River Whitewater is a chalkstream, we encourage you to tell your MP how important chalkstreams are and why they need their own bespoke range of protections.

Please write to your MP and ask them to join the APPG.  You can find and contact your MP here.

Greywell Fen phase 2

Update from the Greywell Hill Estate

Alaska Ecological Contracting finished their part in the restoration of the Fen, leaving a large area of bare mud and a considerable amount of felled alder and poplar. Since when most of the mud has turned green and a lot of wetland birds have enjoyed their summer here.

In the meantime, Estate forester, Tom Elpelt, had to sort very random quality alder and has moved most of the alder either to Down Farm for chipping or into a considerable pile for sale to a wholesale firewood merchant. There was a bit of a delay as Down Farm had run out of room for any more timber.

The Estate has now started on the next phase of the restoration which is to restore the fencing so that cattle can be grazed on the Fen under the management of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. In order to get the fencing in, the Estate is coppicing the overstood hazel running along the side of the bridle path (route 703) and will cut back some of the growth encroaching onto the footpath (fp6) adjacent to the Mill Head. The hazel is on very strong stools and will grow again.

There is a cleared piece of ground at the top of the Mill Head and this is to be included in the grazed area, so the fenceline will cross the footpath in two places. There will be two kissing gates in the fence line and these to a standard that can be accessed in a wheelchair.

The first priority is to get cattle grazing as soon as possible, so we are pressing on with getting the Fen fenced. This means that the poplar will probably not be shifted until ground conditions permit in 2021. The current thinking is that it will be chipped on site and moved in bulk trailers to Down Farm. This has two advantages, firstly that chipping is very noisy and the site is a good distance from the nearest house. Secondly, grain trailers will carry more timber in chipped form than a conventional timber trailer and crane and so there will be less tractor movements and wear on the track.

The prime tool in all the work is the Estate’s 8 tonne excavator, driven by Joe Elpelt, which is equipped with tree shears (like a large pair of scissors), post thumper and a cone splitter to break the poplar down to a size that a chipper can handle.

Greywell Fen restoration

Works at Greywell Fen

If you have walked up to Greywell Mill recently, you may have wondered what is happening on the area between the Broadwater and The Moors Nature Reserve (the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s land). The simple answer is fen restoration.

The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  It was designated for its fen habitat and associated flora including marsh helleborine, marsh valerian and marsh fern.  Once, grazing and coppicing would keep it open.  However, in recent years it has become overgrown and dominated by alder, thus reducing its biodiversity.  The work will enable the fen to return to “favourable condition”.  As Spring progresses, we hope to see it come alive with wildflowers.

Defra accepted the whole Greywell Hill Estate land into its Higher Tier Stewardship Scheme at the start of 2020.  This is a bureaucratic environmental land management scheme for farms and forestry.  It includes incentives to carry out major works, which would not otherwise be considered by landowners.  Natural England’s officer is keen that the Fen is restored.  Especially as the Wildlife Trust has undertaken similar work on the adjacent land several years ago.   Alaska Ecological Contracting, the same contractors as used by the Trust, are carrying out the works and the Trust’s local warden is overseeing it.

The contractor is felling all the alder and poplar.  These will be moved off site when ground conditions allow.  The end use of the timber will probably be for biomass production and it will be processed locally if possible, to minimise the haulage.  Wetlands are extremely efficient at carbon sequestration.  We believe that the work should have a positive impact on water levels in the River Whitewater and help to prevent the drying out of fen habitat which would otherwise be a cause for concern.

The contractors will clear the site completely.  The site will revert to grass and reeds and will be lightly grazed to control the return of alders.  The Wildlife Trust will help to manage the site.

Published with the kind permission of James Malmesbury

WVPS AGM cancelled

Please note that the Whitewater Valley Preservation Society AGM, to be held on Monday 23rd March, has been cancelled.  This is due to prevailing circumstances. 

We will notify members as soon as we have a future plan.  In the meantime please do not hesitate to keep in touch by email ContactUs(at)Whitewatervalley.org.uk.

Storm Dennis causes flooding

Video

Storm Dennis, coming hard on the heels of storm Ciara last weekend, has caused flooding around Mill Corner in North Warnborough.

Mill Corner is under water.  Sewage is coming up from the manholes.  The pumping station on Hook Road is an island in a sea of sewage.  The sewage is now over flowing into the River Whitewater, an important chalk stream, which is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

Field water is running across the road to North Warnborough Greens. The ford gauge is 44 cm.
Thames Water have been called and the Environment Agency notified.

WVPS Autumn Reception

The Chairman and Committee of the Whitewater Valley Preservation Society invite you to an Autumn Reception on Sunday 15th September 2019 at 12 noon.

Please note! The Venue is now changed to:
Whitewater Mill, Poland Lane, Odiham, RG29 1JL

This is one of two meetings of the Society per year, which are included as part of membership.

Drinks and canapés will be available.

Members: Please R.S.V.P. as indicated on your invitation or by email ContactUs(at)Whitewatervalley.org.uk

Non-Members: You are more than welcome to join us. Please R.S.V.P. by email to ContactUs(at)Whitewatervalley.org.uk

Riverfly Census Report

Salmon & Trout Conservation issues report and conclusions from its three-year River Census project 

“The Riverfly Census Report has been central to S&TC’s work for the past three years. It coincides with the United Nations’ recent statement on the catastrophic state of the global environment. The results should worry everyone. Our message is simple; unless there is radical change our rivers will soon become lifeless. With ever increasing public interest in environmental health there is a desire for real change. Government must use this opportunity to incentivise businesses to place the protection of our rivers, wild fish and all other water-dependent life at the centre of what they do.”

Paul Knight, Chief Executive, Salmon & Trout Conservation

Milestone Salmon & Trout Conservation study reveals that sediment, sewage and commercial salad washing, are causing dramatic declines of keystone aquatic invertebrate life throughout England’s lifeblood rivers

Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) initiated The Riverfly Census to collect high-resolution, scientifically robust data about the state of our rivers and the pressures facing them.

To download the full report: click here

The Riverfly Census highlights worrying declines of aquatic insects in English rivers as a direct consequence of industrial, agricultural and domestic pollution.  Aquatic insects are the equivalent of “the canary in the coal mine” when ascertaining the health of individual rivers. Declines of up to 58% in some species have been observed in the last thirty years, with no sign of the trend reversing.

Three-year high-resolution study, the Riverfly Census, employed standardised monitoring of aquatic invertebrate life in key English rivers to reveal dramatic changes in water quality and ecosystems

The Riverfly Census data provides an overview of how pollution affects a particular river. The aquatic insect community is shaped by the quality of the water at each sample point. Scientists then decode this bug-based information. Armed with these biological snapshots, we are able to zoom in on particular problems and if necessary, carry out further invertebrate or chemical sampling.

Lauren Mattingley, S&TC Scientific Officer, added:

“It is an often-overlooked fact that invertebrates essentially run our planet. They make up the majority of species on earth and sustain all life. Aquatic insects are invaluable in unlocking the true story of water quality in our rivers. Much of the pollution threatening our waters is subtle and invisible to the naked eye. By looking at what species were there, and which are missing, for the first time we have been able to truly quantify the invisible stressors deteriorating water quality throughout England.”

Urgent action from Government and the Environment Agency is required to protect keystone aquatic invertebrate life in English river ecosystems to prevent further declines.

S&TC attribute the root cause for the majority of aquatic insect declines to:

  • increased levels of Phosphorus (emanating predominantly from sewerage systems)
  • deposition of fine sediment (the result of poor management of agricultural soils) and
  • an overwhelming array of chemicals entering rivers (including flushing of pesticides from imported salad leaves)

Nick Measham, S&TC Freshwater Campaigns Manager, commented:

Much of the scientific work done by or on behalf of S&TC is complex, detailed and unspectacular.  The results can take years to collect and interpret – but this is the heart of what we do, as, without the evidence, those who damage our waters cannot be challenged.”

Exacerbating the crisis facing the health of our rivers is a framework of weak environmental regulations. Too often these fail to address real world issues, such as the concurrent release of chemicals and their cumulative effects. When combined with a long-standing culture of apparent light touch enforcement, the existing regulatory framework is wholly failing to offer adequate protection.

Diminished regulatory resources and outdated monitoring approaches are also likely to be hiding the true extent of harmful emissions in river ecosystems. Only with robust long-term monitoring in the mode of the Riverfly Census can we truly understand the changes occurring in our freshwater habitats. The Riverfly Census has started to address the lack of widespread, high resolution benchmarking but considerably more work now needs to be undertaken.

Dr. Janina Gray, S&TC Head of Science & Environmental Policy:

“The evidence is clear; our rivers urgently need our help. Current regulation and management are not managing to halt the frightening decline of aquatic insects, let alone reverse it. Our freshwater fish and invertebrates are being choked by fine sediments which should be on fields, not in rivers, and are subjected to chemical cocktails we don’t understand or monitor. If we want our children to be able to watch wild trout rising, a mayfly hatch emerging or a kingfisher feeding, the time to act is now.  This degradation is happening now, under our noses and on our watch. It is time for all of us to take action.”

Salmon & Trout Conservation is calling for action at the national level and is making a series of policy recommendations:

  • Further investigations into the biological impact of phosphorus spikes. Without this work, the validation that discharge permits, based on an annual average of monthly samples, are providing for the protection of our rivers is highly questionable.
  • Chalkstreams should have their own classification targets within the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
  • Establish a standardised approach to monitoring fine sediment in our rivers and set appropriate river specific standards.
  • Develop a national programme of species-level monitoring to provide the resolution required to detect pressures such as excess phosphates, sediment and damaging chemicals, and the benchmarking on which to make informed decisions.
  • Include SPEAR analysis in River Basin Management Planning within WFD, to allow the biological impacts of chemicals to be assessed alongside other pressures, and requirements for additional supplementary chemical monitoring prioritised where necessary.
  • Ensure the environmental protection offered by European legislation is transposed into and implemented through UK law, including the creation of Water Protection Zones where existing measures fail to protect water quality and river ecology.
  • A review of discharge permit guidance to include measures to assess the cumulative and legacy impacts of multiple chemicals within the discharge.
  • All chalkstreams to have bespoke invertebrate targets to drive forward improvements, whilst WFD classification targets are being developed.

Issued by Corin Smith [email protected] (07463 576892) on behalf of Salmon and Trout Conservation. For more information please contact [email protected]and [email protected] on 01425 652461

Reporting with a purpose

S&TC is a national organisation and we use evidence from local case studies to help instigate policy changes that will benefit UK wild fish populations. But, this is just part of the value. We are making all our Riverfly Census findings available so they can be used to inform local management and drive action.

Each individual river report is based on three years of surveying data. Where possible, we have linked up our findings with other existing literature and data. Using the available information we suggest where local fishing and/or conservation groups can focus their management efforts to achieve the best health outcomes for each of the 12 original Census rivers.

S&TC’s local reports can be found by visiting the Riverfly Census page and scroll down to the map.

Owens Farm west of Hook

Update from Hook Action Against Overdevelopment

Stop Owens Farm – West of Hook

The developer is appealing against Hart’s refusal of the Owens Farm planning application for 700 dwellings.  The appeal hearing starts on Tuesday 19th March.

Hook Action Against Overdevelopment invited Whitewater Valley Preservation Society to speak at the appeal against this development, because of the strength of our previously submitted objection.

We want to show the Planning Inspector the enormous level of dismay and concern at this application.

You can help do this in two ways:

  • Attend part of the appeal hearing
  • Display the poster above (click it to view & print)

The appeal starts at 10am on Tuesday 19th March in the Council Chamber at the Hart District Council offices, Harlington Way, Fleet GU51 4AE.  Parking is available in the Victoria Road car park.

The hearing will run until Friday 29th March, although likely to exclude Monday 25th March.  We urge you to attend whenever you have a chance.  You can come and go as you like during the hearing.  A large representation on the first morning will make the greatest impression on the Inspector.

The inspector will probably visit Hook on Monday 18th March and make other visits during the appeal.  She will not only visit the site but also other parts to fully appreciate the implications on Hook as a whole.  Thank you in anticipation of your help in trying to get this appeal refused.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you!  We have seen objections from over 310 people to the applications to deregister part of Jubilee Green / carry out restricted work on Hook Common.  A great result – thank you!

So what can you do now?

  • Attend parts of the Owens Farm Inquiry – from Tuesday 19th March, 10am. It really will help!
  • Print out the poster using the link in the email and display it in your window or at the front of your property.
  • Continue to watch out for and let us know about any signs of environmental, wildlife and traffic surveys or other indications of any developments around the village.
  • Please continue to spread the word about Hook Action Against Overdevelopment.  Encourage family, friends and neighbours to register for these updates at hookdevaction.org.uk/subscribe and follow us on Facebook.

Report incidents to Environment Agency

Environment Agency incident hotline
Telephone: 0800 80 70 60
24-hour service
Find out about call charges

Please call the Environment Agency incident hotline to report:

  • damage or danger to the natural environment
  • pollution to water or land
  • poaching or illegal fishing
  • dead fish or fish gasping for air
  • main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree causing risk of flooding
  • flooding from any river, stream, canal, natural spring or the sea
  • incidents at Environment Agency-regulated waste sites
  • illegal removals from watercourses
  • unusual changes in river flow
  • collapsed or badly damaged river or canal bank.