Grayling fishing at the very top of the Test today. The keepers up there say that the Test and Itchen are currently as low as they have ever seen - even lower than 1976 when the end of the chalkstreams was predicted.
My question is, and one that river keepers are wondering, is why has there been no comment or plan of action from our friends at the E.A?

Reg Wyatt

same on the Avon catchment. The Nadder is lower than I have ever seen it. You can walk across it wearing work boots (not even wellies needed) in Salisbury and not get wet.

That said, what can the EA do? Abstraction licenses do not have a low level-high level range on them, there's just an amount that they are allowed to take through the year. They do need to come up with some scheme to deal with river conditions, especially when levels drop below a certain point. Politically this is a really really tough issue though, and the worst thing is, it's ofwat that actually block allot of this stuff, representing you and me allegedly. The water companies are blocked from doing a number of things because the investment would put our bills up like £10 a year or something...

I think, and it's only my opinion, not something that I can prove, that our rainfall patterns have been bad news for the chalkstreams in the last year. We've had very wet periods, but at funny times of the year and also, very wet periods that flash off the land and through the river system very quickly. We don't seem to have the long extended wet periods of the past anymore. Remember the old adage is that rain needs to fall before Valentines day to be of any use to the chalkstreams in the summer. We've had very high rivers in early season and then heavy rain that wooshes through and doesn't touch the aquifers.

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ugly casts catch fish too
http://nadder-diary.net

Not quite as bad up here, but still not good. One year the river didnt come back until December 12th so we are someway in front of that year. Shame to hear the Itchen is stuggling, it always seems to keep its levels and look good no matter what. One consolation is that it doesnt take much rain at this time of the year to bring the rivers up.

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http://141207.blogspot.com/
http://www.haddonestate.co.uk/rivers/rivers.php
http://www.thepeacockatrowsley.com/fishing.html

Malcolm, have you seen/read the abstraction licences for the water companies? I would be interested in seeing a copy or the salient detail.
Rob

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"The sun was so delightfully warm, and the stone, which had been sitting in it for a long time, was so warm, too, that Pooh had almost decided to go on being Pooh in the middle of the stream for the rest of the morning."

www.monnow.org

Rob, I'll see if I can send you one...

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ugly casts catch fish too
http://nadder-diary.net

I fished the Test at Wherwell last week and was shocked at how low it was and how slow it was running.

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Roy

I find this slightly surprising. While the chalk streams are undoubtedly very much on the low side right now, I would say things were definitely worse in the early autumns of 2005 and 2006. The upper Avon where I fish was a pitiful sight in both those autumns, in places more like a little brook than a major chalk stream. In fact, if we hadn't had a wet winter in 2006-7, parts of Southern England would have been in serious trouble the following summer as regards water supply...I have heard the same as Malcolm about chalk streams needing steady winter rain to refill the aquifers, so the very wet summer of 2007 didn't fit the bill.

I have also heard persistent rumours of constant heavy abstraction from the aquifers, some say that a considerable volume of water from the Avon aquifer finds its way into the Farmoor reservoirs, via Swindon. Is this a total urban (or Wiltshire) myth ?

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

wh is the current southern branch STA abstraction officer

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I've had a go at this and came up against a brick wall. Licenses of right, granted in the 60's, are the main abstractor from our water tables. We understood that any harmful abstractions were to be called in but what actually happened was very different. Any potentially harmful abstractions that were no longer being used were supposed to have been withdrawn. Not a single drop of water was saved in our case; in fact we had further holes sunk to counteract the draw down in the aquifer, caused by the existing wells.

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http://141207.blogspot.com/
http://www.haddonestate.co.uk/rivers/rivers.php
http://www.thepeacockatrowsley.com/fishing.html

Kennet main river yesterday below Hungerford was some 2-3 ft down on normal levels , bottom half of "my" beat were similar fortunately top Half better due to weirs ect!.

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Andy Wren
Winter grayling taking a year off !
Claret not just a great dubbing colour!