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Tag: rivers

River Pollution

Posted on July 23, 2024August 6, 2024 by Andrew Davis

Climate change scientists have forecast warmer wetter winters, predictions that have certainly been borne out by the past year or two. Indeed, Met Office statistics show that, from October 2022 to March this year, more rain fell on England than in any eighteen month period since records began in 1836.

Flooding was extreme with many fields and roads under water for weeks on end. This had a serious impact on farming with the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board suggesting that the yields of winter wheat will be 15%, winter barley 22% and oilseed rape 28% lower than the 5-year average. Coming on top of the reduction in subsidy and other financial constraints, there have been threats of potential food shortages.

National Character Areas

Posted on April 11, 2022July 30, 2024 by Andrew Davis

The country of England has long been divided up into smaller areas or regions for several purposes. In the first millennium AD, there were separate kingdoms, Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and the like, which were unified by King Athelstan in 927. We have had counties for centuries, at one time divided into Hundreds, enough land to sustain approximately one hundred households. In a two tier system, we now have counties and districts with administrative responsibilities and, more recently, unitary authorities.

But these are all administrative areas, the boundaries of which have little relation to geology or landscape. We have fifteen National Parks, ten in England that cover 10% of land area and reflect the environment with some administrative functions, planning for example. The aim is to ‘conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage and to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of National Parks by the public’. There are also 46 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 34 in England, that have the same objective except for the latter public enjoyment part. They cover 18% of the countryside but have little direct administrative function.

Sewage Discharges

Posted on November 29, 2021July 30, 2024 by Andrew Davis

Somewhat surprisingly, the Thames is the most photogenic of all rivers according to an American travel website. To demonstrate that claim, it has found that the Thames is mentioned more frequently on Instagram than any other river in Europe. Even more surprising is a report from the Zoological Society of London which states that the Thames is ‘a rich and varied home for wildlife’ after being declared biologically dead sixty years ago.

And yet there has been a lot of publicity recently about the discharge of raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters. There has been passionate debate during the passage of the Environment Bill, now enacted, through both Houses of Parliament with claims that the Government is not taking enough action to remedy the situation, specifically that the powers conferred by the Act are not sufficient to force water companies to stop the practice. Despite numerous amendments and intense lobbying, the Act only requires the Government to ensure that water companies secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows.