Before Christmas, I visited the beautiful village of Manton near Marlborough. From the Ordnance Survey map I knew the River Kennet ran through the village and having fished the river downstream at Kintbury and at Aldermarston, I was keen to see what the upper river looked like.
I was shocked by what I found.I have read about the effect water abstraction has had on rivers in the south and have seen ‘winterbournes’ dry in the summer, but nothing prepared me for the sad sight of the river bed. Not a single drop of water. No rivulet running. No water weeds. No insects. No trout or minnows hovering in crystal clear water. Just rocks and old bricks and a ‘private fishing’ left high, dry and irrelevant. Scandalous.
The cause of the problem appears to be excessive abstraction from the underground aquifer that feeds the river. Ultimately, poor and inefficient use of water can be to blame. Who knows what the duration of the problem will be. There may be no permanent return to flowing water in this part of the Kennet and it will become a ‘Winterbourne’, flowing only after a winter of rain and disappearing again in summer.
Some solutions that we can do as individuals are anything to reduce water consumption. In the garden we can collect and use rainwater, we can spread mulches over our soils to help the ground absorb water and reduce evaporation from soil in summer, we can use low water demand plants and lawns. We should stop laying driveways that are impermeable.
There are campaigns to raise awareness:Bristol Water has a number of good tips on how to save water:
The Guardian covered the issue in December:
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