Stotfold Water Mill has announced its 2026 Open Days!
Please come along and visit the Mill which is powered by the water if the River Ivel.
Stotfold Mill website link: https://www.stotfoldmill.com/plan-your-visit/open-dates-and-times/
More housing developments, on “green field” land, have been approved in North Herts over the past few months.
- Baldock 3,000+ new homes
- Letchworth 900+ new homes
- Hitchin (east) 700+ new homes
- Little Wymondley 350+ new homes
- Great Wymondley 9+ new homes
- Graveley 26+ new homes
Additional sites are also being evaluated alongside the A1(M) south of Letchworth. And, this does not include the huge housing development to the North of Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
Where is all the additional drinking water coming from to supply these new homes?
North Herts District Council and the Letchworth Heritage Foundation both indicated that they are committed to protecting the environment. Yet, RevIvel has been unable to find any evidence that these developments will reduce water abstraction from the surrounding chalk aquifers.
5000+ new homes in N.Herts will require a lot more drinking water. Relying on existing chalk water aquifers runs a significant risk of reducing the groundwater levels for the natural springs that feed our local chalk streams.
A major source of pollution into the upper River Ivel is a A1(M) Stormwater Pond near Baldock. The exact location is beside the Kingfisher Way footpath, just south of Nortonbury Lane.
This stormwater pond collects runoff from the A1(M) and gradually releases it into the River Ivel. Ponds like this often contain toxic metals (lead), oil, polymers, and other chemical contaminants. We believe this stormwater pond was last cleaned out over 30 years ago.
Lobbying by RevIvel has helped to get this stormwater pond cleaned out, which is good for the River Ivel.
Contractors have removed +30 years of tree and scrub growth. We anticipate that silt in the stormwater pond will next be carefully removed from the site. And finally, a new reed bed installed to complete the work.
If you walk along the Kingfisher Way between Baldock and Radwell, you will see the work taking place over the coming weeks.
Pix Brook in Letchworth, between Norton Common and Standalone Farm, has been transformed over the past two weeks.
A series of natural water breaks have been built across the brook. We believe the work is part of a wider Environment Agency project to reduce flooding in Stotfold.
Additional river monitoring devices have also been installed by the Environment Agency.
In an idyllic Oxfordshire hamlet, the fish in the river keep dying. Why? David Thewlis and Jason Watkins lead this shocking real-life drama of victims, whistleblowers and England’s water companies.
Channel 4 is now showing a docudrama about the shocking state of the UK Water Industry and the impact on local communities.
A link to the Channel 4 series site is here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dirty-business
A RevIvel Member and keen dog walker has reported seeing parakeets in and around Radwell.
We believe the birds are Ringneck Parakeets that probably escaped from captivity. They have regularly been spotted down by the upper River Ivel over many months and don’t seem bothered by the British winters.
Please let us know if you spot anything similar on your walks along the River Ivel!!!
Rain or shine, every month a dedicated group of RevIvel Volunteers meet in Radwell (Herts) to survey the upper River Ivel.
The volunteers have been carefully trained, and the results of each riverfly survey are passed to the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
Would you like to get involved? If so, please contact RevIvel. Thank you.
The Rivers Trust 2026 Big River Watch event will take place from the 24th to 30th April 2026.
Can you get involved to help this vital annual event for the River Ivel?
RevIvel needs more help to raise awareness about the River Ivel. The upper River Ivel is one of the most heavily abstracted chalk streams in the UK. We need more volunteers to step forward and get involved in surveying the Ivel from Baldock to Tempsford.
To get involved, please go to The Big River Watch website here: https://theriverstrust.org/take-action/the-big-river-watch#main-content
Taking part in a river survey is fun and easy. We would love for people to complete Big River Watch surveys at:
Baldock (Ivel Springs), Radwell, Stotfold, Henlow, Langford, Biggleswade, Sandy and Tempsford. Thank you.
The Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust has recently published a short video about Chalk Streams in Hertfordshire. The Trust is looking to work with landowners to restore our local chalk streams.
The YouTube link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYvbLNNNJlw
If you have an interest in the River Ivel, or any chalk stream in Herts and Beds, please have a look at the video. Thank you.
The BBC has reported that a £1.72m chalk river restoration project has been completed in Hertfordshire. See link to article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyzjn9nqleo
This is fantastic news – If you know the River in the article, please let us know?
Photo credit – Sophia Spurgin / BBC
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