Stotfold Mill is open on various dates across the summer. The Mill is a working museum where you can see the power of the River Ivel turning the milling wheels.
The next open days are:
Stotfold Mill has a cafe. It’s a great location for a day out.
More details available here: https://www.stotfoldmill.com/plan-your-visit/open-dates-and-times/
RevIvel recently visited St. Mary’s CE Academy in Stotfold. A huge thank you to the pupils and staff for hosting us!
Ian Hall, from RevIvel, gave a talk about the River Ivel and explained why chalk streams are so important to the natural environment. The pupils listened intently to what Ian had to say and asked lots of brilliant questions.
Catherine Wilmers, also from RevIvel, played her cello before and after the talk. The children were transfixed by the performance!
If you are a local school or club in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire, we would love to come along and talk about the River Ivel. Please get in contact!
“An environmental charity has warned people it would be idiotic to eat fish caught in a “very dirty” part of the River Great Ouse.”
The full BBC News article is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c33j3m0l2yeo
In May last year Thames Water was handed a £122.7M fine, the biggest ever issued by Ofwat, for breaching rules on sewage spills and shareholder payouts.
Now lenders are negotiating to bail out Thames Water with a £9.4bn write off. But on a condition of leniency from future pollution fines!
All UK Water Companies need to be held accountable for cleaning up our rivers. Leniency is simply not an option.
Please read the full BBC News article here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly089d0wl7o
Sewage overflows may pose greater threat to England’s rivers than previously thought
Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) could be contributing far more pollution to England’s rivers than previously recognised, according to new research involving scientists from Imperial College London and Brunel University London.
Link to the full report here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/articles/natural-sciences/environmental-policy/2026/sewage-overflows-may-pose-greater-threat-to-englands-rivers-than-previously-thought/
The Comet newspaper recently published an article about an oil spill into the River Hiz in 2023.
Logie Property Co Limited took responsibility for an oil discharge from transformers being used at Ickleford Mill into the River Oughton and River Hiz around August 31, 2023.
The company will contribute £20,000 to Great Ouse Rivers Trust, a environmental body which protects the Great Ouse and its lakes, tributaries and wetlands.
The full article can be read here: https://www.thecomet.net/news/25932528.company-contribute-20-000-river-hiz-oil-spill/
Stotfold Mill will be open on Sunday 29th March from 12:30-5:00pm
Milling demonstration sessions from 1:00pm onwards.
Please support this local charity and come along to see how the upper River Ivel powered Stotfold Mill throughout its working life.
Details here: https://www.stotfoldmill.com/plan-your-visit/open-dates-and-times/
The Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) is running Herts River Week from the 23rd to 31st May.
Please have a look at the HMWT website for more details: https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/herts-rivers-week
More housing developments, on “green field” land, have been approved in North Herts over the past few months.
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.