The benefits of our sustainability reductions
Under the EU Water Framework Directive, all rivers are required to be of “good ecological status (GES)” by 2027 unless they have been designated as ‘Heavily Modified’ or ‘Artificial’. For these latter two categories, the Directive states that they must achieve “good ecological potential (GEP)” by 2027. In order to achieve this, in addition to reducing the amount of water abstracted from the chalk aquifer, river restoration and habitat enhancement works are being carried out between 2015 and 2020. We are working with landowners, community groups and catchment partnerships to deliver this work.
We are currently working on river restoration and habitat projects in the following river catchments: Misbourne, Gade, Ver, Upper Lee, Mimram and the Beane. Increasing river flows through sustainability reductions, along with, for example, the removal of weirs and the restoration of natural channels, will allow the natural morphological processes to occur once again in these rivers.
These processes create a mosaic of different habitats with a resulting diversity of aquatic fauna and flora. Where appropriate, the removal of weirs and increased flows will also allow for the free movement of fish up and down the catchments, allowing them to re-colonise areas from which they had previously been isolated. The habitat diversity will create areas for fish to spawn and refuge areas to escape predators, as well as providing ample food sources.