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The state of our rivers

I think unless you fish, the challenges rivers/sea face are completely mute to you. How many people think farmed Salmon is good for you, and how many still think it comes from the sea? Same with crabs, mussels, sea bass, and many seas fish are now farmed. The only time people know our Rivers are under thread is if they see a pollution story in the local papers. Maybe we as anglers should start by telling everyone we know just how bad things are. I showed my 3 girls an article on farmed Salmon, and they have all stopped buying it.
 
Just got back from Riverfly testing on what used to be a very Invertebrate rich stretch of river Colne up in Harefield. There was a pollution just upstream about 5 weeks ago from Maple Lodge sewage works. Until that pollution the Gammarus (river shrimp) was very high a 4 minute kick test produced an estimated 3000, the test just after the pollution was about 100 today it was down to 40. Three complete Invertebrate species have completely gone,no mayfly,Blue-winged Olive Ephemerellidae or Olive Baetidae. Both of the Olive species were both in the 200's. There were 3 Bullheads so the fish have not all died but its the knock on effects. If you loose the Invertebrates that the small fish feed on they starve and do not survive the cold months. The EA will probably not bother to come out and investigate but we will go through the process to report the issues. This sort of thing is happening all over the country dumping of sewage that kill the smaller food chain items and cause massive long term invisible damage.
 
I’m concerned greatly. I know the rain is overdue. But I’ve spent two days on the royalty and not seen a chub let alone a barble. Nothing being caught. Ok. Some little 1lb fish which is great. But seeing the bottom on most parts of the river in 1-2 ft of water where there should be 2-5 is criminal. # extraction and god knows what else. Then you see certain famous anglers posting on Facebook doubles galore caught on certain exclusive stretches and around the county is an alternative reality.
 

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Ian Robinson said:
I’m concerned greatly. I know the rain is overdue. But I’ve spent two days on the royalty and not seen a chub let alone a barble. Nothing being caught. Ok. Some little 1lb fish which is great. But seeing the bottom on most parts of the river in 1-2 ft of water where there should be 2-5 is criminal. # extraction and god knows what else. Then you see certain famous anglers posting on Facebook doubles galore caught on certain exclusive stretches and around the county is an alternative reality.
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If it makes you feel better Ian I’ve done about 13 sessions or 50 hours if you prefer on the Avon this year, for one lost Barbel. I know other competent anglers suffering the same fate this year. I also notice well known characters turning up away from their usual haunts, trying to find fish. The fish appear to be incredibly localised and unkeen to move in my experience this year, even the Chub are less on it.
 
Stephen Crowhurst said:
If it makes you feel better Ian I’ve done about 13 sessions or 50 hours if you prefer on the Avon this year, for one lost Barbel. I know other competent anglers suffering the same fate this year. I also notice well known characters turning up away from their usual haunts, trying to find fish. The fish appear to be incredibly localised and unkeen to move in my experience this year, even the Chub are less on it.
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Steve. I’m with you on that. I also know some very good anglers also suffering the same fate. And yes a couple have decided to move about. And the stour has been patchy also with some of the faces struggling also.
Yes I totally agree on the location. It’s just very reminiscent of carp fishing which I was lucky to be a member of some of the exclusive syndicate circuit waters( so I’m not going into sour grapes mode. ) and the perks and residents they contained. Which is still the case today in carp fishing. One of my life time clubs has a ten year waiting list currently.
The average joe sees all the magnificent pics of fish and does not realise they are located in sydicated stretches or lakes which only the lucky few have access to. Paints a false picture of things. Shame is these pics are used to plug baits etc. I My two mates I’ll add had some great catches last year on day / club ticket stretches of the stour ok fishing some times at night 🤯🤣. ( anglers mail ). But I think some transparency is required when posting and self publicity / bait plugging pics.
 
Simon Kitcher said:
www.google.com

'Total failure' on English river water quality - BBC News

Pollutants still blight all of England's rivers, lakes and streams, the Environment Agency says.
www.google.com www.google.com
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Nothing about abstraction. I would say abstraction in the east of the country is having the largest impact on our rivers. Millions of gallons are taken out of already depleted waterways, to be pumped onto millions of acres of crops in Licolnshire, Essex, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Bedforshire Suffolk and Cambridgshire. And still there are zero plans to create more reservoirs. House building is in overdrive in the south and east, more and more water is needed but, it just ain't there.
 
Chris Guy said:
Nothing about abstraction. I would say abstraction in the east of the country is having the largest impact on our rivers. Millions of gallons are taken out of already depleted waterways, to be pumped onto millions of acres of crops in Licolnshire, Essex, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Bedforshire Suffolk and Cambridgshire. And still there are zero plans to create more reservoirs. House building is in overdrive in the south and east, more and more water is needed but, it just ain't there.
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It's bad in the South as well Chris! If you could eliminate the issue of abstraction it would allow for a greater dilution of any discharges.
#shareholdersdividendsmatter
 
The annual
new house building requirement for the UK is around 300,000 new homes - a majority of which will be built in the south as the southern economy provides the work & income levels allowing the investment. As well as the flood-plain issues on clay soils, the influence of this level of new water abstraction for domestic consumption on the chalk geology of the Hampshire Avon needs no clarification. The historical flows of the Avon, and the seasonal 'winterbourne' innundation of the riparian meadows of the Avon valley are unfortunately consigned to history. The biggest existing influence on chalk aquifers is abstraction, the new threat is from fracking. The house builders will obviously not stop - the only mitigation available is better household water efficiency.
 
Simon Kitcher said:
...the only mitigation available is better household water efficiency.
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That's not really the case. Given that for years it has been predicted that our climate in the UK is likelier to have hotter summers but milder, wetter winters, investment in managing water is another option. Aside from the investment issues, which are not small, having milder, wetter winters to most having a decently worked out water management strategy would be a no-brainer solution to the issue of abstraction - glaringly obvious! I feel that it will need legislation to achieve that though!
 
Simon Kitcher said:
The annual
new house building requirement for the UK is around 300,000 new homes - a majority of which will be built in the south as the southern economy provides the work & income levels allowing the investment. As well as the flood-plain issues on clay soils, the influence of this level of new water abstraction for domestic consumption on the chalk geology of the Hampshire Avon needs no clarification. The historical flows of the Avon, and the seasonal 'winterbourne' innundation of the riparian meadows of the Avon valley are unfortunately consigned to history. The biggest existing influence on chalk aquifers is abstraction, the new threat is from fracking. The house builders will obviously not stop - the only mitigation available is better household water efficiency.
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I think the majority of those homes will be built in the South East, don’t forget quite how expansive Southern England is and the money so to speak is really made inside the M25. It’s as far from Dover to the Lizard as it is from Southampton to Scotland, more or less. West Hants and East Dorset is really about the limit of the commuter belt, certainly once you pass Ringwood and enter Dorset and the South West it’s that bit too far, the house prices reduce a fair bit reflecting it. Outside the commuter belt tourism is the industry, one that dominated with minimum wage jobs.
 
Completely agree with your views on the south east however, along with the existing housing stock, the demand for housing in the Christchurch to Salisbury conurbations is large. Admittedly much of it will be apartment blocks, with small semi-detached houses on small developments making up the rest. When I lived in the New Forest 20 years ago I worked inside the M25 as did many of my friends and work colleagues. The vulnerability of the Avon catchment is the combination of a slow recharge rate in the aquifer (which needs large areas of grassland and pasture to do this effectively), and the loss of precipitation through surface runoff as a result of increasing amounts of tarmac, concrete and housing. When low flows are combined with increasing temperature, silt and nitrogen from both agriculture and effluent exponentially increase algae growth which adds another dimension to an already stressed ecosystem. All this mitigated for in the EU Water Framework Directive - which may not apply to the UK from January the first 2021.
 
Simon Kitcher said:
Completely agree with your views on the south east however, along with the existing housing stock, the demand for housing in the Christchurch to Salisbury conurbations is large. Admittedly much of it will be apartment blocks, with small semi-detached houses on small developments making up the rest. When I lived in the New Forest 20 years ago I worked inside the M25 as did many of my friends and work colleagues. The vulnerability of the Avon catchment is the combination of a slow recharge rate in the aquifer (which needs large areas of grassland and pasture to do this effectively), and the loss of precipitation through surface runoff as a result of increasing amounts of tarmac, concrete and housing. When low flows are combined with increasing temperature, silt and nitrogen from both agriculture and effluent exponentially increase algae growth which adds another dimension to an already stressed ecosystem. All this mitigated for in the EU Water Framework Directive - which may not apply to the UK from January the first 2021.

www.sciencedirect.com

Role of river bed sediments as sources and sinks of phosphorus across two major eutrophic UK river basins: the Hampshire Avon and Herefordshire Wye

The Equilibrium Phosphorus Concentration (EPC0) of river bed sediments has been measured for a wide range of agricultural subcatchments and main river…
www.sciencedirect.com www.sciencedirect.com
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My hope and it may prove naive but that’s for the crystal ball and to a greater extent us as a public, that our departure will remove the excuse of “we are achieving the standards set by the EU” and that public demand will push things to a more tailored fit for policy and process. I know some will think these thoughts to be for the birds but if as an independent nation we fail to shape it into what we as a population want, who is to blame but ourselves? “We get the government we deserve” after all...
 
"I've always believed that angling should seek to form broad coalition with the likes of the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, WWF etc on the issue of water quality, as you rightly say differences need to be put to one side. It's the only way that the politicians that lead Defra and its agencies (EA & Natural England) will ever be effectively held to account. Until we are in a position where these politicians (form whatever party) see that votes are at stake then nothing will ever change.

And I agree about the to educate adults. From where I'm standing the kids are generally more on the ball about that environment that most adults."

I agree whole heartedly, but will all these organisations ever work together, i do wonder!!!
 
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