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Water Situation Report for Upper Ivel-April 2023.

by membership 30 May 2023

written by membership

All data presented courtesy of the Environment Agency and Met Office (Crown copy right 2023)

Rainfall:
April was a relatively wet month with rainfall in our catchment reaching 110% of the expected long-term-average (LTA).Rainfall across East Anglia was classified as normal to notably high in all hydrological areas.Following the exceptionally high March rainfall and above average April figures, the 3-month average for our catchment is now 136% (notably high) and the six-month average through the autumn and winter is at 132% of LTA.

Monthly rainfall totals for the past 12 months as a percentage of the 1961-1990 LTA.

Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD)
The heavy rainfall in March and above average rainfall in April resulted in the area surrounding the Ivel maintaining 0-10mm SMD. Groundwater recharge season has been unusually extended into April and this has improved groundwater conditions in our catchment, with Upper Bedford Ouse catchment continuing in ‘Recovering Drought’
conditions.

As a result, we are seeing improvements in surface water flows, groundwater levels and ecology recovery.

Soil Moisture deficits for week ending 30 April 2023. Data based on weekly MORECS data for real land use and compared to an analysis of historic 1961 – 1990 LTA dataset.

Definitions:
Soil Moisture deficit (SMD) – The difference between the amount of water in the soil and the amount of water that the soil can hold (field capacity).

Ground Water (GW):
Looking at the regional picture across the East Anglian chalk, Ground Water levels continued to improve during April.The west of the region (including the upper Ivel) has seen the greatest improvement in GW levels with resulting in noticeable improvements in spring flows, ending the month as “normal”. The North Norfolk chalk streams remain in a poor situation being “notable low”.

Springs and River flows:
The main spring at Ivel Springs in Baldock started to flow on 14 th January 2023.
The second spring at the Ivel Springs nature reserve (upstream of culvert) in Baldock started to flow on 1st January 2023.
Flow at Blackhorse Mill was seen by the end of the first week in January 2023.Thanks to the exceptionally high rainfall in March and above average rainfall in April, the springs in Baldock, and Radwell are all looking good. There is currently good flow, but at the Ivel Springs there are no invertebrates (water insect larvae) due to the drying up of the river between June 2022 –Dec 202. Chalk stream ecology is adapted to a constant environment and is high intolerant of repeated episode of drying up. Where the Ivel has managed to keep a constant flow of water (below Radwell Mill), aquatic life is flourishing and the RiverFlies team recorded their best ever sample including hundreds of Mayfy larvae. This is a clear indication of the potential of our chalk stream if we can establish a healthy flow regime year-round.
The river Ivel flows are officially measured at Blunham. The river had been low to notable low through the summer but returned to normal during October- January responding directly to significant rainfall events. Heavy rain events throughout March resulted in “exceptional high water levels recorded but during April this returned to normal levels
(green zone).

Reservoir Stocks:
Water from the Ouse is transferred at Offord into Grafham Water reservoir. Recovery of reservoir stocks in Grafham Water remains slow with the reservoir currently at 87% full (blue line on graph) (Below normal). Despite the rainfall over the last six-month having reached 132% of LTA, the current stock levels remain below the normal operating level of 90%+.

End of April 2023 Grafham Water reservoir stock compared to the Normal operating Curve, Drought Curve and 1995-1996 stock levels.

Looking forward:
Recharge of the chalk aquifer relies on the amount of rainfall through the autumn and winter months. Overall, the last 6 months has seen good recharge conditions with overall 132% of Long Term Average (LTA).

The Upper Bedford Ouse catchment has been in official drought since end June 2022. The exceptional rain fall in March and above average levels in April 2023 has thankfully resulted in a change in status to “Recovering Drought, much to the relief of the Affinity Water and the Environment Agency.
Affinity Water has recently changed Ivel catchment classification from drought zone 1 to average. Sadly, Affinity Water seem to rely on such exceptional “GET OUT OF JAIL CARDS”, without any real plan other than continuing to abstract ground water (GW) as much as is legally and / or physically possible every month. For the nine months period of drought experienced in 2022/ 2023 Affinity did not instigate any hosepipe bans instead they continued to pump water from the ground and allowed the river to dry all the way from Baldock to Radwell (acknowledged result of their Drought Plan).

Since 2019, when RevIvel have been highlighting the plight of the chalk headwaters of the Ivel and Affinity Water have been making all the right noises, more water has been taken from the aquifer than ever before!
Consequently, the river Ivel and its associated flora and fauna continues to suffer……..

30 May 2023 0 comment

Events

Baldock Festival 2023.

by membership 15 May 2023

written by membership

Three busy days for RevIvel with events on consecutive days. We had fun at the Baldock Street Fair 13th May (see us chatting to Cllr. Michael Muir). Then the concert, followed by a well-attended talk in the Orange Tree pub 15th May. Thank you to the audience for being so interested and asking so many great questions.

15 May 2023 0 comment

Events

The Bubbly River Concert 14th May 2023.

by membership 14 May 2023

written by membership

On Sunday May 14th The Ivel Ensemble (Emma Crossley violin, Judit Kelemen viola, Catherine Wilmers cello, Jill Morton piano, Emma Halnan flute and Jonathan Harris horn) performed a very popular concert at St.Mary’s Church in Baldock to a completely full church. They performed a super programme of Mozart and his contemporaries as well as the stunning Schumann Piano Quartet.
Over £2000 was raised with the help of generous donations of cakes from members and supporters. Wonderful raffle prizes were also gifted and sponsorship was obtained. St Mary’s Church in Baldock was very supportive and The RevIvel Association is grateful to them for hosting the concert.

14 May 2023 0 comment

Latest News

Wildlife recording along Upper Ivel

by membership 11 May 2023

written by membership

Finn Harrigan is the latest recruit to the Revivel Committee.

Finn is a local biology graduate fascinated by wildlife and keen to conserve and improve local biodiversity. He is excited to share with you the “Wildlife in Baldock and Beyond” Facebook group that he has created to try and engage more people with wildlife, ecology and conservation and he invites everyone to join. The group is all about sharing local wildlife sightings, local events and causes, and creating awareness of the biodiversity crisis. As part of the biodiversity crisis, chalk stream conservation is an important battle worth winning. Finn believes this group can help Revivels cause by engaging more people with the fascinating field of natural history and how the biodiversity crisis impacts us all.

We welcome and encourage everyone to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for chalk streams and the natural world to help create an informative, encouraging and inclusive space for those in Baldock looking to learn about biodiversity and conservation. We’re still in the early stages of populating the group, so please help in spreading the word if you can and posting anything you think others may find interesting! Together, we can make a real difference in protecting and enhancing our local biodiversity.

Wildlife recording is an important way the public can learn about and help protect rapidly disappearing wildlife in the UK. Becoming much more accessible in recent years through the use of technology, anyone can record the wildlife they find to generate vital data used to study nature and the responses of ecosystems to environmental change. Wildlife recording is crucial in helping inform conservation practices and gathering data to study the biodiversity crisis, but just as importantly it is a tool that has great potential in helping us reconnect with nature. Wildlife recording can help us get outside to reap the mental and physical benefits of being outdoors while learning about the impacts we have on the environment by slowing us down and opening our eyes to the incredible, but disappearing, diversity of local flora and fauna on our isles.

A queen Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) searches for a suitable cavity to establish a nest. Data from citizen science projects have helped document the rapid spread of this species across Europe and into the UK when it was first recorded in 2001. Since then, records have been able to show its rapid spread across nearly all counties in
England and Wales as well as its more recent arrival to Scotland, where colder temperatures limit its spread. This queens above-ground cavity nesting habit has helped facilitate the species rapid spread with queens readily using urban areas for nesting such as bird boxes or loft spaces, in the absence of trees.

At its core, a wildlife record consists of what you saw, when you saw it, where you saw it and who saw it.

For a long time, these were completed on paper and then sent to wildlife recording groups often with a specimen that could be used to confirm if identification was correct. Now with specialised apps designed for recording wildlife, it is easy for anyone to take a photo of a species and record it. If you are a beginner to wildlife recording, I strongly suggest you sign up to iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/) and download the app to your phone so you can upload records very easily on the go.

iNaturalist is the most user-friendly of the wildlife recording apps. Especially useful for beginners, photos of findings can be identified using the apps A.I feature that compares your photos to those on its vast database of records, as well as using the geographical location of the record, to give its best suggestions on what species you are looking at. This feature has its limitations as many groups of species are more or less identical to the naked eye, but provided you have taken a good enough photo of your organism from multiple angles, the feature can be used to confidently point you in at least the right direction of what taxonomic group (group of related organisms – such as great apes which our species is a part of) it belongs to which is extremely helpful for beginners trying to navigate the awe-inspiring diversity of life on Earth! Uploaded records can then be viewed by other enthusiast wildlife recorders on the app who can verify what species have been recorded. When enough fellow iNaturalist users concur with what the species is, the record is now given the research grade status, helping to reduce the degree of error in data collected by citizen scientists used in scientific studies.

Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea (Lathyrus latifolius), a non-native species that is now naturalised in the UK following its escape from gardens. Records from citizen scientists have been able to show how widespread this species has become especially in the south and midlands of England. You may have seen these large showy pea flowers in the summer at Weston Hills or near Clothall Common.

Once you have downloaded iNaturalist and made an account, practice recording some wildlife in your garden and then give it a go in Ivel Springs. Ivel Springs, like most local nature reserves, is very under- recorded and would benefit greatly from having more data on the biodiversity present. Without adequate data diversity of species on site, we cannot assess how biodiversity on site is changing over time in response to environmental change, such as aquafer over abstraction and climate change. Having sufficient data of wildlife in Ivel Springs and the upper reaches of the River Ivel prior to its restoration for use as a baseline is critical for quantifying the impact restoration would have on the surrounding ecology. Any species you record in Ivel Springs using iNaturalist will be collated under the Ivel Springs Wildlife Recording Project (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wildlife-at-ivel-springs).

If you visit the project page, you can see what wildlife has been found (or rather lack thereof currently!) in the reserve and compete with other local citizen scientists on the project leaderboard for who has the most records and for which groups. There is a high potential for interesting findings considering how few records there are for the area! Even if you don’t know what you’ve found, be sure to take a photo and upload the record so it is
shared on the project. Being curious enough to start opening your eyes to the huge diversity of life around you is the first and most important step! In addition, to share your findings, learn more about other local wildlife in Baldock, and find out how else you can support biodiversity in Baldock, be sure to join the Wildlife in Baldock and beyond Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildlifeinbaldockandbeyond). The group was recently created to help raise awareness of the biodiversity crisis, create a stronger community around these issues and manifest positive change for the state of wildlife, especially in face of future growth in the area that could threaten further habitat loss. It would be great to create as active of a group as possible and show that these issues that affect us all are important to the community.

A Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) feeding on a Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). Citizen science data on butterflies have been helpful in revealing distribution changes of species across the UK with climate change, and Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count recording project has generated great (but worrying) data each year on how populations are fairing.

On a larger scale, the records you produce as a wildlife recorder are vital for researchers exploring all kinds of ecological questions across species groups. With the huge gap between how much land there is and the scarcity of expert recorders and surveyors, citizen science is a powerful tool in collecting more data across the UK while engaging more of the public with the biodiversity crisis. Here are just a few examples of how important wildlife recording is for understanding changing ecology and in turn, conserving biodiversity:

– With enough records, we can infer species range and study how they are responding to factors like climate change. This is important if we are to strategically protect existing populations of at-risk species, and more crucially restore and create habitats in optimal locations.

– Surveying and recording specific species groups that are sensitive to environmental change are especially useful for monitoring the condition of habitats, like chalk rivers, that can be vulnerable to pollution. Species of riverfly and other aquatic invertebrate groups are extremely sensitive to pollution and are utilised in river monitoring initiatives by The Riverfly Partnership to help evaluate the health of rivers and detect pollution events so appropriate action then be taken. In the future, Riverfly Monitoring of the upper reaches of the River Ivel will hopefully be feasible when flow is restored. For now, we are looking into monitoring riverfly populations further downstream where flow is better as to monitor pollution events that could be happening in the upper reaches of the river currently. Please do reach out if you would be interested in helping us monitor the river as there will likely be riverfly training in the near future.

– Phenology (the timing of species lifecycles – such as flowering in plants, the emergence of insect species in spring and the migration of birds) is another important component to understanding ecosystems under climate change and can be studied using the time of wildlife records collected by citizen scientists.

– Giant hogweed is a very agressive invasive species that can spread rapidly down river sides through their bouyand seeds that wash up onto banks before germinating into a behemoth plant that can outcompete our native riverside plants and can welts on your skin if you are exposed to the sap. This species has now been recorded at Ivel Springs and hopefully will be removed soon to prevent further rapid spread. As a wildlife recorder, you can help monitor our green spaces and help identify any invasive species that have arrived early on – early detection is crucial in managing invasive species!

– Wildlife records are also used to direct and inform conservation and development planning. This is especially important to consider for Baldock with the currently proposed developments. By recording wildlife in Baldock and showing greater care and appreciation for our wild spaces, we have a greater chance of ensuring that they won’t be destroyed.

A Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) perched on an emergent reed stem. Similar to butterflies, dragonfly recording by citizen scientists has helped to reveal drastic and worrying changes in species distributions. Some species of dragonflies (as well as butterflies and other insects) are migratory, travelling from Europe and even as far as sub-Saharan Africa. Citizen science records of migratory species help provide important ecological information such as their migratory timings. With the UK climate becoming warmer and wetter across winters, we may find occasional migratory species able to colonise and establish populations here, such changes will likely be discovered by citizen scientist wildlife recorders first. It could be you!

If you’ve caught the wildlife recording bug and want to challenge yourself by furthering your knowledge and understanding of ecology and evolution, there are boundless free resources on the web but physical field guides used for identification are very useful while in the field if you are interested in any specific groups but don’t let that be a limitation to your learning. Learning from other enthusiasts I find is the best way of learning so I recommend joining other Facebook wildlife groups and checking out the Hertfordshire Natural History Society which leads fortnightly walks to explore wildlife in our county.

All in all, get outside, see what you can find and don’t forget to share your findings to the WIBAB group!

Alternatively, if you not on Facebook and want to be involved in the project ,or would like to know more about the group please email Finn on wildlifeinbaldock.ab@gmail.com

11 May 2023 0 comment

Latest News

Water Situation Report for Upper Ivel – March 2023

by membership 24 April 2023

written by membership

Water situation for Upper Ivel – March 2023
All data presented courtesy of the Environment Agency and Met Office (Crown copy right 2023)

Upper Bedford Ouse catchment received 256% of long term average (LTA) rainfall resulting the return to recharge of the aquifer and improved spring flow.

Rainfall:
March was a very wet month with rainfall in our catchment reaching 256% of the expected long-term-average.
Rainfall across East Anglia was classified as exceptionally high in all hydrological areas except North Norfolk. On
average East Anglia saw 99mm of rain across the region. Many of the regions hydrological areas were ranked in the
top 5 wettest March’s on record.
Following the exceptionally high March rainfall the 3-month average for our catchment is now 128% (above normal)
and the six-month average through the autumn and winter is at 145% of LTA.

Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD)
The heavy rainfall in March resulting in a decrease in the soil moisture deficit (SMD) across the whole of East Anglia.
The area surrounding the Ivel decreased to 0-10mm SMD, evident by standing water in many fields preventing most
spring cultivation and drilling activities. This has resulted in an extended groundwater recharge season and has
improved conditions in our catchment, allowing the Upper Bedford Ouse catchment to move into ‘Recovering
Drought’,
As a result, we are seeing improvements in surface water flows, groundwater levels and ecology recovery. Other
hydrological areas in East Anglia further east and north remain in Drought conditions.

Soil Moisture deficits for week ending 31 March 2023. Data based on weekly

Definitions:
Soil Moisture deficit (SMD) – The difference between the amount of water in the soil and the amount of water that
the soil can hold (field capacity).

Ground Water (GW):
Looking at the regional picture across the East Anglian chalk, Ground Water levels improved during March due to the
exceptional rainfall which has allowed late season recharge, reversing the worrying situation we were facing at the
end of February. The west of the region (including the upper Ivel) has seen the greatest improvement in GW levels
with resulting in noticeable improvements in spring flows, ending the month as “normal”. The North Norfolk chalk
streams remain in a dire situation being “notable low” / “exceptionally low”.

Reservoir Stocks:
Water from the Ouse is transferred at Offord into Grafham Water.
Recovery of reservoir stocks in Grafham Water remains slow with the reservoir currently only 80% full (blue line on
graph) (Notably Low). Despite the March rainfall the current stock levels are a long way from the normal operating
level of 90%+. This is because pumping of raw water into Grafham from the Ouse was stopped on 9 th March as the
level of nitrates level in the river were close to 50mg/l. It is likely that the exceptionally heavy rains resulted in runoff
of spring fertiliser off farmland into the surface water courses.
End of March 2023 Grafham Water reservoir stock compared to the Normal operating Curve, Drought
Curve and 1995-1996 stock levels.

Looking forward:
Recharge of the chalk aquifer relies on the amount of rainfall through the autumn and winter months. The autumn
and early winter (Oct- Nov – Dec 2022) were wet months with 150% of LTA. January rainfall was 103% of the LTA,
February was exceptionally dry at only 20% of LTA which had a visible negative effect on the aquifer and spring flows
were reduced. The exception rainfall in March saw a welcome late season recharge of the aquifer. Overall, the last 6
months has seen good recharge conditions with overall 145% of LTA.
The Upper Bedford Ouse catchment has been in official drought since end June 2022. The exceptional rain fall in
March 2023 has thankfully resulted in a change in status to “Recovering Drought, much to the relief of the Affinity
Water and the Environment Agency. Sadly, Affinity Water seem to rely on such exceptional “GET OUT OF JAIL
CARDS”, without any real plan other than continuing to abstract ground water (GW) as much as is legally and / or
physically possible every month.
Since 2019, when RevIvel have been highlighting the plight of the chalk headwaters of the Ivel and Affinity Water
have been making all the right noises, more water has been taken from the aquifer than ever before!
Consequently, the river Ivel and its associated flora and fauna continues to suffer……..
We can’t expect to be saved by a “one in 40 year event” every time!

24 April 2023 0 comment

Latest News

Water situation report for Upper Ivel -February 2023

by membership 31 March 2023

written by membership

Water situation for Upper Ivel – February 2023
All data presented courtesy of the Environment Agency and Met Office (Crown copy right
2023)
Rainfall:
February was exceptionally dry with only 20% of the long-term average (LTA), classified as exceptionally low. The 3-month average (Jan- March) has fallen to 72% of the long-term average.

The worsening rainfall situation in February sees the continuation of drought conditions in Upper Bedford Ouse catchment. Overall East Anglia experienced the driest February since 1959 (3rd driest on record).

Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD)

Due to the exceptional low levels of rainfall in February and the milder than normal temperature, soil moisture
deficit (SMD) increased across the whole of East Anglia. The area surrounding the Ivel increased to 10-20mm SMD,
meaning that recharge stopped and effective the aquifer started to empty… SMD ended the month at 21 mm. SMD
in the northern and eastern areas of the region deteriorated even more.

Definitions:
Soil Moisture deficit (SMD) – The difference between the amount of water in the soil and the amount of water that the soil can hold (field capacity).

Ground Water (GW):
Looking at the regional picture across the East Anglian chalk, Ground Water levels are now ranging between normal to notably low compared to historic February levels. Affinity Water confirmed to RevIvel that by the end of February Ground Water levels were in decline in the upper Ivel catchment.
It is worth noting that if an augmentation scheme was up and running for the Ivel it would have to be deployed now!
This is a frightening thought when you realise that such measures are mean to only be deployed at the end of the summer / early autumn when GW level would naturally be in decline.

End of February Grafham Water reservoir stock compared to the Normal operating Curve, Drought Curve and 1995-1996 stock levels.

Looking forward:
Recharge of the chalk aquifer relies on the amount of rainfall through the autumn and winter months. The autumn and early winter (Oct- Nov – Dec 2022) were wet months with 150% of LTA.
Whist January rainfall was 103% of the LTA, February has been exceptionally dry and this is already having a negative effect on the aquifer and recharge has stopped.
Significant rain is needed in March 2023 to support the return to aquifer recharge and to improve the chances of flow of the chalk springs in Baldock, Norton and Radwell in the spring and summer months 2023.
The Upper Bedford Ouse catchment has been in official drought since end June 2022.Over this time Affinity Water has applied its drought management plan with the local area being in Drought Level 1 and Drought Level 2 (4 levels in total). The focus of the drought management to date has been to reduce customer demand and reduce leakages…. Pumping of the groundwater from the boreholes around Baldock and Letchworth continued throughout July 22 to February 23. Affinity Water abstracted all the water they could within legal and physical limits irrespective of rainfall / aquifer recharge. Throughout this time no temporary drought orders were applied (no hosepipe ban). In line with their drought management plan Affinity Water fully accept their actions will see chalk stream dry up for
long periods of time……….
Since 2019, when RevIvel have been highlighting the plight of the chalk headwaters of the Ivel and Affinity Water have been making all the right noises, more water has been taken from the aquifer than ever before!
Consequently, the river Ivel and its associated flora and fauna continues to suffer……..

31 March 2023 0 comment

Events Latest News

Growing Baldock consultation March 2023

by membership 30 March 2023

written by membership

Members of RevIvel attended Urban and Civic’s consultation about their new large development in Baldock called ‘Growing Baldock’.

The event was held on Saturday 25th March and Wednesday 29th March 2023 at Baldock Arts and Heritage Centre (old Town Hall),High Street, Baldock.

It was very important that we made our voice heard about the Importance of Best in Class Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to minimise the negative impact on our precious chalk stream.Further details about this are below to help with understanding the issue .

Urban and Civic have also set up a website https://growingbaldock.co.uk where you can view what they have to say at the moment and also email them or telephone them if you would like to comment, or alternatively register to be kept posted with what’s going on .

RevIvel’s own key takeaways from attending the consulation are

The River Ivel and groundwater were not high on the agenda of many of the residents attending the consultation.
North Herts District Council and Urban & Civics representatives have a poor understanding of the groundwater and sewage issues currently impacting Baldock.
NHDC does not believe we have yet hit the crisis point with a water supply and sewage management in North Herts.
Groundwater and water management are not part of U&C’s “sustainable solution” – They believe it is a water company responsibility.
The current situation with lack of flow to the upper River Ivel is not covered in any of the Urban & Civics posters and information.

So the main message to us is clear – keep up the pressure on water companies and both Herts County Council and North Herts District Council and maintain a strong dialogue with Urban & Civic.

More details about ‘Best in Class Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)’ to a minimise negative impact on our precious chalk stream are

The fundamental principles that influence the planning and design processes
enabling SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) to mimic natural drainage are:

 Storing runoff and releasing it slowly (Attenuation)
 Harvesting and using the rain close to source.
 Allowing water to soak into the ground (Infiltration).
 Slowly transporting (Conveying) water on the surface.
 Filtering out pollutants.
 Allowing sediment to settle out by controlling the flow of water.

Critically SuDS starts with rainwater capture and reuse at source. Sustainable
drainage systems recognises that rainwater is a valuable resource.

 Use surface water run-off as a valuable resource to contribute to water
sensitive urban design (WSUD) and adopt the philosophy of integrating the
water cycle within the built environment.
o Helps manage local flood risk.
o Local wildlife benefits
o Recreational, health and well-being benefits to population
o Recognise rainfall is a scare and valuable resource.
oFocus on rainwater capture and reuse at every property on the development.
o Permeable hard standing on driveways and paths
o Every property with water harvesting features/ water butts for garden
use.

 In chalk catchments use SuDS to encourage infiltration throughout the
development to contribute to aquifer recharge and support groundwater.
 End of pipe solutions where run off is directly discharged to a wetland or pond
should be avoided (faster run off flow, higher levels of pollution).
 If we get this right, we can help manage drought resilience, and limit impact of
the urban development on the chalk aquifer and local wildlife.
 Getting wrong looks like an ever-larger storage options, often favouring a
giant, steep-sided pond at the bottom of the development or worse still urban
flooding/pollution of our precious chalk stream.

30 March 2023 0 comment

Latest News

Site visit to new augmentation borehole Affinity Water are sinking at Ivel Springs

by membership 17 March 2023

written by membership

At the invitation of Affinity Water’s project team, Nick Rogers and Nick Balmer visited the site on
Tuesday 14th of March.

Melissa Ahmet, Affinity Water Project Manager for the augmentation scheme, and other members
her team, explained that the borehole was currently 20 metres deep. It is intended to sink the well
40 metres below ground level. As the ground surface is about 54m AoD (above sea level) where the
borehole is being installed, it had been expected that there would be made ground, i.e. non-natural
deposits from human activity. This proved to be the case with bricks & old tip material. At about 4m
down the lower layers of the Melbourne Rock were penetrated.
The borehole rig is a Shell and Auger Rig which, while ideal for the purposes of installing the well, is
not ideal for recording Chalk, as the action of the cutting head and drilling fluid destroys the Chalk
layers.
Samples are being taken at 1 metre intervals, which we were shown, but the Chalk arisings were
pulverised into mush by the head, so it’s difficult to interpret the geology from them.

Image courtesy of : Samples from the borehole, courtesy of Affinity Water. A sample is taken at 1 metre intervals as the borehole
progresses. The shallowest sample is at the top left, with each sample from left to right getting deeper. The shell & auger
rig unfortunately pulverises the chalk, adding water to the chalk, which destroys the all important structure of the Chalk.

The borehole had passed through the Zig Zag Chalk, and was through the Tottenhoe Stone (the
aquifer, that outcrops at Radwell). Affinity hope to tap into this lowest aquifer. We expressed our
concern that the Tottenhoe Stone was their preferred source of water for the augmentation system.
With the Melbourn Rock Aquifer has been empty since April 2022, and the Tottenhoe Stone Aquifer
almost dry last Autumn, RevIvel do not believe that it will be sustainable to take augmentation water
from the Tottenhoe Stone during drought years. Drought years, are exactly those when the
augmentation scheme is most needed, and are precisely the same years when the aquifer will be at
its most over extracted.
We were pleased to see that Affinity Water will taking the borehole down a further 20 metres, to
approximately 16 m AoD. This will increase the chances of tapping into the West Melbury Marl, that is situated under the Tottenhoe Stone, and above the Upper Greensand.

There are very few existing boreholes that go deeper than the Tottenhoe Stone, because until very
recently there was always groundwater present in the aquifers above this level. It was not possible
to justify the expense of drilling any deeper.
There has only been one previous other drought of the intensity of 2022, in recent times, when the
water supplies from the chalk came very close to failing. This was in 1963-4, when three wells were
sunk at Radwell and Bygrave down to the Gault Clay. These wells did provide water, but were very
expensive to run, so the water authorities responsible at that time abandoned them as soon as the
Chalk aquifers refilled during 1965 and the following years.
With the huge expansion of demand in North Herts linked to population growth, the existing water
situation is currently at least, if not more serious than in the 1960’s.
Years of under investment in water infrastructure is coming home to bite the entire community.
RevIvel are pleased that Affinity Water have recognised that their over extraction, has destroyed the
upper reaches of the Ivel, and are taking steps to try to remedy the damage. We have been in
discussions with Affinity Water, the Environment Agency, NHDC, our MP and many elected members
of local government since February 2022, and have repeatedly pointed out the inadequacy of
Affinity Water’s proposals.
In September 2022, RevIvel laid on a demonstration, that reproduced the level of recharge
augumentation flows that Affinity Water intend this new project to deliver. The flows are throughly
inadequate, and as the demonstration showed the water delivered by the scheme will be soaked
away within 10 to 20m of the outlet.
Affinity Water had promised to deliver enhancement works to the Ivel Springs Nature Reserve
during the Winter of 2022. We had been informed that the tree work by Affinity Water would be
completed by 1 st March 2023, ahead of the earthworks. Regulations do not allow the felling of trees
within the bird nesting season. We asked Affinity Water’s Project Manager when they intend to
carry out the channel enhancements, and were told that they hope to start in the autumn of
2023.

Volunteers from Baldock Greenspaces have been working very hard to coppice or pollard many of
the existing trees in the Ivel Springs Nature Reserve in recent weeks. We welcome this effort, as the
regrowth from pollarded and coppiced trees will greatly increase the potential for nesting birds etc.
in the coming year.

While at the Anglian Water Sewage pumping station, we witnessed part of the final commissioning
of the new section of the pumped foul sewer which, the site supervisor told us, they hoped would be
completed by Friday 17 th March.The new main replaces the old section of pipe that has burst four
times in less than 2 years, sending thousands of gallons of raw sewage cascading into the riding
school and Ivel Springs reserve.RevIvel has been working behind the scenes to bring pressure to bear
on Anglian Water for the last two years, and are very pleased that Anglian Water have finally
competed the work.

17 March 2023 0 comment

Latest News

Times article on the plight of Chalk Streams in England.

by membership 17 March 2023

written by membership

The Times has written a very interring article on the plight of Chalk Streams in England.

Charles Rangley -Wilson has made a power statement:

“some chalk streams, such as the Ivel in Bedfordshire and the Darent in Kent, are “total basket cases” because of how much water had been taken from them”

Please click on the link below to read the full article.

https://www.revivel.org/app/uploads/2023/03/Chalk-streams-‘need-more-protection.pdf

17 March 2023 0 comment

Latest News

Anglian Water doing sewage pipe works

by membership 16 March 2023

written by membership

For those of you that have walked around Ivel Springs lately will have noticed works going on by Anglian Water. It appears that Anglian Water are putting in new sections of pipes that takes the sewage form Baldock to Letchworth. Given that this old pipeline was responsible for several leaks and spillages over the past two years we are pleased that action is now taking place. We have asked Anglian Water several times for an official statement that we could send onto you but sadly at the time of writing nothing has been received.

16 March 2023 0 comment

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