Fobney Island 'paradise' reborn

In January 2011 plans to redevelop Fobney Island into a wetland wildlife sanctuary were brought into question due to funding issues.  Fortunately, the regeneration project started at the end of that year, and the site is now beginning to show signs of recovery.

The regeneration works area remains fenced off at the time of writing.

Access for heavy plant was provided across the riverine section of the Kennet to the south of Fobney Island.

The site looked rather bleak in January 2012...

...but was showing signs of recovery by March 2012.

Although it still has some way to go before being reopened...

...a gaggle of Canadian Geese and their young (+ a cormorant and a heron) were all spotted already enjoying the new pond areas today.

With regard to paddling the short 830m riverine section below the weir and back down to the Navigation, this section has been made potentially and marginally more  'interesting' by the introduction of two riffles (gravel beds to encourage fish spawning), and five trees that have been deliberately dropped into the river as Large Woody Debris (LWD) environmental features.

The artificial riffles created on the riverine section of the Kennet should be avoided in low water to prevent environmental damage (or accusations of such).

If paddling between June 16th and March 14th (inclusive) be aware that anglers will now be located on the southern bank (river right) and although trees have been cut back to allow for casting (and to let more light reach the water) their newly cut out emplacements may be more difficult to spot.  Whilst, conversely, keeping river left should also help in avoiding the hazard of the trees on the right note that there will be no access across the island, and although there are paths cut behind the angling spots, Reading and District Angling Association intend to gate these at each end of this section.

A broadened point in the River Kennet on the south of Fobney Island is part of the effort to restore this section of the waterway to a more naturalised flow regime.

Government must do more for the River Kennet

The WWF has called on the Coalition Government to do more to address the drought conditions affecting many English rivers, including the River Kennet:

"As England’s drought restrictions come into force today, we believe the government must ramp up efforts to protect people and nature from drought – including introducing the widespread roll-out of water metering.
After two unusually dry winters, seven water companies - Southern Water, South East Water, Thames Water, Anglian Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Central and Veolia South East - have imposed hosepipe bans across large parts of the country, with most of England in or at high risk of drought. Although we’re urging the public to do all they can to save water, we’re also calling on the government and water companies to do far more.

We want them to lead the way and act with a sense of urgency to push for near universal water metering and to reform laws on how much water we take (abstract) from rivers - currently we take too much. Whilst abstraction reform is proposed by the government’s Water White Paper, a new law is unlikely until after the next general election. No plans for the roll-out of metering were made in the White Paper and no timetable, other than ad hoc improvements, have been put forward to tackle the issue. This is despite the government’s own estimated figures that the strategic roll-out of water metering could save the country £1.5 billion.

WWF’s freshwater expert, Dr Rose Timlett, said: “The government needs to be doing much more in response to the drought and should learn from the example of other countries. Parts of drought-stricken US and Australia are light years ahead of us, using a combination of water meters, rewards for water saving, efficiency kits and intermittent restrictions, to save up to 30% off water demand.

“Hosepipe bans are currently necessary, but they’re a quick fix and won’t solve the problems long-term. Unless the government does more and with a greater sense of urgency we might face the harsh consequences of losing unique wildlife in the not too distant future.”

How is the environment coping?
Water is the lifeblood of the river. When we have too little it affects everything in it - from the smallest bug to the biggest fish. At the moment rivers across the south and east are flowing below normal levels. Some are drying up completely, which can have immediate effects – fish get distressed and can suffocate, some plants and aquatic bugs that are the basis of the food chain die-off – and even when flows return it can take many years for the ecosystem to recover. Over time, low water levels can change the very nature of the ecosystem: fish spawning and migration are impacted, plant and bug populations change, the river can become choked with silt, and pollutants are more concentrated."

If you would like to help in protecting the future of the River Kennet contact your MP and ask him/her to

a) support a call for water metering as a national policy, and
b) stop the abstraction from the River Kennet by Thames Water for water use outside the Kennet catchment.

Whilst you are doing this why not also ask them to support your right to canoe and kayak on the River Kennet.

Your MP can be contacted as follows.

Claire Perry (Devizes)

Westminster:
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 7050
Fax: 020 7219 1385
claire.perry.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency:
Renelec House, 46 New Park Street, Devizes, SN10 1DT
Tel: 01380 729358

Richard Benyon (Newbury)

Westminster:
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 8319
Fax: 020 7219 4509
richard.benyon.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency
6 Cheap Street, Newbury, RG14 5DD
Tel: 01635 551070
Fax: 01635 569690
mp@richardbenyon.com

Alok Sharma (Reading West)

Westminster:
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 7131
alok.sharma.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency:
16c Upton Road, Tilehurst, Reading, RG30 4BJ
Tel: 0118-941 3803

John Redwood (Wokingham)

Westminster:
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4205
Fax: 020 7219 0377
john.redwood.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency:
30 Rose Street, Wokingham, RG40 1XU
Tel: 0118-962 9501
Fax: 0118-962 9323
andrea.wca30@ntlbusiness.com

Rob Wilson (Reading East)

Westminster:
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 2498, 020 7219 6519
Fax: 020 7219 0847
robwilsonmp@parliament.uk
Constituency:
12a South View Park, Marsack Street, Reading, RG4 5AF
Tel: 0118-375 9785
office@readingeastconservatives.com

Water levels recede on lower River Kennet

After last week's rainfall significantly increased water levels on the lower Kennet, the river showed a marked reduction today.

The gauge at Padworth Road bridge demonstrated a c.80cm fall in the water level in less than a week, and is likely to further decline unless we receive renewed rainfall in the coming weeks and months.

In the same time frame the weir at Barbel Bar went from almost washed out...

...back to a normal seasonal wave, but this is not going to be maintained without a further extended period of wet weather.

Elsewhere on the lower River Kennet today, road access was restricted at a number of locations by adjacent bank holiday rail works.

Given the location of this sign next to Thatcham railway station today, it can only be assumed that contractors were expecting an influx of Welsh paddlers, no doubt attracted by the Kennet's higher than normal flows last week.

River Kennet rises to the rainfall

It's not going to be nearly enough to replenish the depleted aquifer that supplies the River Kennet with its normal flow levels, but a week of rain has produced some interesting run off levels. 

Having last posted about the dried out Upper Kennet, I returned to the UK last week and somewhat dismissed all the accounts of  the proverbial downpour conditions.  A slight amount of roadspray on the way to the office, the occasional need for wipers on the way home...  and then I looked at the Environment Agency website river level report for the Kennet.

This may be the last time in a long time that you'll see these sort of levels reported for the River Kennet.

I should have packed a kayak rather than a camera, but whilst it's not the Dart, etc., this is what the River Kennet can occasionally offer in terms of flow rate for canoeing and kayaking:

Barbel Bar nearly washed out by the water level.