FOLLOWING one of the driest summer spells on record, anglers and conservationists have raised alarm at the drastically low water levels in some of our most famous rivers.
The mighty Thames has been one of the worst affected, and hit the national headlines after literally running dry.
Speaking directly from the scene, Rivers Trust expert Dr Rob Collins said: “The source of the River Thames in Gloucestershire has dried up, with a weak flow only just discernible more than five miles downstream.”
He added that, far from this being a one-off, the “frequency and severity” of such events would “intensify, with increasing competition for a dwindling resource and devastating impacts on aquatic life.”
Thames Water has come under fierce criticism for its lack of action and investment, including the scrapping of a £250m desalination plant which was to help with emergency drinking water supply.
Critics have also pointed out the authority’s lack of emergency response, with a hosepipe ban arriving only after the river level had already hit an historic low.
BBC financial expert Paul Lewis pulled no punches, describing water companies as: “The industry where money flows like water but water flows like sewage. There is no water shortage in the UK. There is a water management shortage.”
Equally scathing was river campaigner Feargal Sharkey, who told followers: “What you’re looking at isn’t drought – it’s decades of underinvestment and mismanagement.”
Meanwhile, in the East, the Wensum was one of a number of other rivers making headlines for the wrong reasons, as flows ceased entirely at Bintry Mill for the first time in over a century. “A mill without water is like a pub without beer,” said Paul Seaman, whose family have owned the site since 1906. The problem has been intensified by bank damage upstream, with the Environment Agency pledging to conduct repairs by the end of the year.
Look out for our special feature on climate change and its impacts on fishing in the coming weeks.