River Chess Association Press Release, 1 Oct 2024:
Disastrous Resumption of Damaging Abstraction in the Upper Chess.
The River Chess Association was established in 2009 to resolve the issues water quality and over abstraction from the aquifer for public water supply on this globally rare chalk stream on the Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire border.
Having successfully achieved abstraction reductions in 2020 we now find this has been reversed by the Environment Agency, having secretly negotiated for two years behind closed doors a costly and ill-conceived resumption of abstraction with Affinity Water with zero consultation with stakeholders.
History Abstraction increased in the catchment by 73% between 2000 and 2014 due to an error generated by the Environment Agency in reducing abstraction in an adjacent catchment and from 2010 onwards we experienced protracted drying events in the upper Chess, the longest being 2015 to 2019, we lobbied Thames Water and Affinity Water the abstractors and the Environment Agency for reductions.
The Environment Agency were particularly hard to deal with, especially in 2013 when they produced the highly flawed Thames River Basin District, Water Framework Directive (WFD) Investigation Hydrology Investigation for Area: Chess GB106039029870 RiverColne Thames NE
The conclusion of this report was “Hydrological impacts are a reason for failure of a biology element but are not linked to abstractions that are licensed.”
We complained to the Environment Agency that this report was error strewn and relied heavily on old data. Our complaints were upheld and eventually to placate the River Chess Association and to cover their embarrassment the Environment Agency agreed that an Upper Chess Low Flows Study would be established in 2015.
From the work carried out during the study, much by River Chess Association volunteers, it became apparent that abstraction was having an impact on flows in the Upper Chess especially in times of dry weather, exacerbating river drying events, making them more frequent and for longer duration. Convinced by this data, AGinity Water voluntarily agreed to stop abstraction in the Upper Chess and shut down their pumping stations at Chartridge and Alma Road, leaving between 4 and 6 mega litres per day of groundwater in the aquifer environment for the river.
The pumping stations at Alma Road and Chartridge were decommissioned in 2020 by Affinity Water as there was no intention of restarting abstraction. So it was a surprise when we received this letter from the Environment Agency, out of the blue on the 19th July 2024, stating that they had asked Affinity Water to recommence abstraction from Alma Road at volumes up to 7 mega litres per day in order that they could model the impact of abstraction on groundwater levels to assess fluvial flood risk and this had been agreed and work would commence in Autumn 2024 .
We have not seen any technical support or justification for this decision and is contrary to the Chalk Streams First Protocol which the Environment
Agency is a supporter. We have requested this decision be reversed and asked for the money saved, believed to be between £300,000 to £1,500,000 to be spent on the tangible flood risks already identified by the River Chess Association.
Requests for answers from the Environment Agency have not been forthcoming.
The sadness is we have seen a marked improvement in the wildlife and ecology in the Upper River Chess since abstraction was reduced. Water Voles have returned to the centre of Chesham, otters are regularly seen in the town, mayfly have returned to Chesham Moor, stonefly have been recorded for the first time in 15 years and brown trout are now breeding upstream of Cannons Mill. The Environment Agency are putting all this at risk with the resumption of abstraction at Alma Road.
Quotes
Affinity Water have said that the resumption of abstraction has no technical merit and when asked why they agreed to it we were told it was “to maintain a good relationship with the Environment Agency”
Wild Trout Trust: “The Wild Trout Trust has supported the work to develop the Chalk Streams First model, which highlights the principle that large-volume abstraction from chalk stream headwaters is unsustainable and ecologically harmful. While protecting and mending physical habitat is WTT’s focus, and that of many other people, it’s meaningless if there’s not enough water of a decent quality in a river”.
Chiltern Society: “Improvements to the River Chess and across the Chilterns have been hard won, on the back of the great work of local river groups like the River Chess Association, and collectively under the umbrella of the Chiltern Chalk Streams Project. All parties including the Environment Agency are signed up to this and the National “Chalk Streams First” protocol, where we agreed not to abstract at the head of rivers as to maximise their flow. On the list of solving the flood risks in Chesham reopening Alma Road pumping station doesn’t even figure. This is yet a further example of the senior Environment Agency team failing to work in partnership and ignoring local and national expertise.”
Wild Fish: “This is a massive backward step for the River Chess and its wildlife. Protecting headwater chalk streams flows are essential to protect their ecology and improve their resilience to climate change. This again shows the failure of the regulator and water company to develop the necessary water supply infrastructure to protect the river.”
River Chess Association Flow Gauging Volunteer: “I have been gathering flow data from the River Chess since 2016 and sharing this information with partners, this news comes out of the blue, it’s a kick in the teeth from the Environment Agency and all trust has been lost.”
Contact the River Chess Association
secretary@riverchessassociation.co.uk
Paul Jennings 07769224496
