Blog & News

Cam Valley Forum calls for Cambridge Water to impose a Temporary Use Ban from 1 July

The following motion was presented to the Annual General Meeting of Cam Valley Forum, held on 20th March 2023

In the face of drought, as is still declared by the Environment Agency, and to protect the aquifer sources of our ailing Chalk streams, the Annual General Meeting of the Cam Valley Forum calls on the Cambridge Water Company to act responsibly by instigating Temporary Use Bans from 1st July 2023.

More than 50 members present discussed the reasons for, and implications of this motion and then voted overwhelmingly in favour of it. 

We set out below the reasons for doing this

The need to conserve water-

The failure of the Chalk aquifer to adequately recharge following last summer’s drought is evident from the Environment Agency hydrology reports and, despite recent heavy rain, we are still in drought measures.  We live in an area that has the least rainfall in England and yet our population is expanding more rapidly than elsewhere.  To meet demand, Cambridge Water Company (CWC) is pumping too much water out of our chalk aquifer and this causes our precious chalk springs and streams and village ponds to dry-up.  The current situation is not sustainable, and significant damage is being done to the area’s biodiversity.  We support CWC’s proposals for the new Fen Reservoir, however this will not be in place until after 2035, and so we must find ways to conserve water from now until then.

Raising awareness-

Cambridge Water’s bills include the ‘Waste not one drop’ message and the Cambridge Water website gives advice and support on how to save water, however consumers are still using around 140 litres of fresh water each day and the usage of water increased by an estimated 25% in last summer’s drought.  The most effective way to make people aware of the need to use water sparingly is to impose a Temporary Use Ban (hosepipe ban).  This is justified as a means of helping our depleted aquifer to recover and preventing environmental harm.

We and other local groups, will be broadcasting and publicising the implications of the Environmental Emergency that we are facing and calling on Cambridge Water Company (CWC) to impose the TUB.

Avoiding delays in implementing a TUB-

The UKWIR’s code of practice when considering how to implement temporary use restrictions is flawed!  This is because it takes a minimum of 5 weeks for a TUB to be implemented after the need for it has been triggered.

This delay meant that TUBs were imposed much later than they should have been, for example Yorkshire Water imposed theirs between 26th August and 6th December 2022. The more stringent Non-Essential Use Ban (NEUB) takes 3 months to implement, and so if this summer sees a very severe drought and the justification for a NEUB is triggered in August, it will not be imposed until November!  Water Authorities need to be proactive and anticipate the need for a TUB well in advance.   The justification for the CWC TUB is the need to allow the depleted aquifer to recharge. So we suggest that internal communication and governance, and external communication with the Environment Agency, regional groups, and neighbouring water companies should happen this May.  The 21 days for comments, to include at least 14 days for representations to be made, could then take place at the start of June. The drought management team could then consider representations from individuals or groups in a fair and even‐handed manner, and any decisions made could be communicated to both the individuals or groups and the public before the end of June.  This would allow the TUB to be announced through local press and media in late June ready for implementation by not later than 1st July 2023.

Cambridge Water Drought Plan is not fit for purpose-

Cambridge City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and the lack of water is certainly one of the most influential factors in the formulation of the emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan.  Why in the light of this, is Cambridge Water’s published level of service is ‘to introduce a temporary use ban or TUB on water use on average not more than once in 20 years’?  Do CWC not envisage taps running dry as water is pumped out from deeper and deeper into the aquifer?  Might this suggest that CWC is not sufficiently meeting the obligations to our natural environment as defined by Water Resources East? 

The CWC Drought Plan states that it is not until Drought Trigger 2 is reached that TUBs would be considered.  At Drought Trigger 2 CWC expect to be experiencing medium severity drought without sign of immediate recovery or lessening of impact.  The impact of such drought conditions would be compounded by the damage to the aquifer sustained by abstraction during previous years’ droughts.  The procedure that requires the lapse of 5 weeks from that trigger point until a TUB can be enforced is not fit for purpose.

We have written to CWC informing them of this motion, and urging them to to work with us in justifying a TUB to be imposed by not later than 1st July 2023, to enable some recharge to our depleted aquifer. 

We received the following reply on 5 April

AGM and Annual lecture 20 March 2023 6:30pm-9pm

We are delighted to say that David Aldridge, Professor of Zoology, of St. Catharine’s College, has accepted our invitation to be our speaker on 20 March.

This is an in-person event, in the  David Attenborough Building, Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ

We look forward to hearing how his ideas may apply to the Cam system.

David’s work focuses on applied freshwater ecology, with emphasis on bivalve molluscs. His particular interests are the conservation of rare species and threatened ecosystems, the biology and control of invasive species, and the use of biological processes to develop sustainable remediation and monitoring programmes for degraded waterbodies.   A considerable part of his work involves collaboration with the water industry, government agencies and NGOs, and these collaborations provide a significant part of his research funding. 

Download details here

Visiting: To get to the David Attenborough building, enter the site through the Pembroke Arch on Downing Street and continue straight past the Museum of Zoology. There is lift access opposite the bike racks. Contact CCI for more information.

Picture : Keith Heppell

Help shape North East Cambridge

Interesting free “festival” happening this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) to help shape the environmental aspects of the plans for the current sewage works site, ie North East Cambridge

Looks like an interesting opportunity to meet with the developers’ sustainability experts, to learn and influence the development

https://coresitecambridge.co.uk/festival/

U+I and TOWN, together with Anglian Water and Cambridge City Council, will host a weekend festival of talks, workshops and family activities to help shape plans for the Core Site, North East Cambridge.

The event will take place on Saturday 29th October between 10am – 5pm, and Sunday 30th October between 11am – 4pm and you can drop in whenever you wish. 

Extracts from the programme

1pm Saturday Workshop: Design a neighbourhood fit for the future: Join Useful Projects to discuss building a neighbourhood at the Core Site that is fit for this and the next century.

2pm Saturday ‘Living alongside nature’: LOLA, the Core Site Landscape architects, will discuss landscaping principles and how we actively design for nature.:

3pm Saturday Workshop: Design a place where humans and nature thrive: Join LOLA landscape architects and Kjellander Sjöberg architects to explore how we can create places where both humans and nature thrive

4pm Saturday Workshop: Design a water conscious place: Useful Projects will present approaches to minimising water use as part of a holistic approach to sustainable development

Details and booking here https://coresitecambridge.co.uk/festival/

New tool for removing Himalayan Balsam

June and July is the time to remove the invasive Himalayan Basam, when the plants are easy to spot, but the explosive seed heads haven’t yet formed.

It looks pretty, but spreads rapidly along rivers and crowds out everything else. We’re working with the Wildlife Trust to remove it from Bourne Brook, Byron’s pool, and a few other spots, before it infests all of Cambridge.

It needs to be removed cleanly from the base, either by pulling it up together with its roots, or cutting it off below the first node.

We’ve discovered that a pruning saw on one of our telescopic Wolf Garten rake handles works really well!

If you would like to join a working party and help, do contact us.

Sewage overflows increasing

The data thats just been released by the wonderful Rivers Trust, shows a concerning and increasing duration of Sewage Overflows from our local Sewage Treatment Works into the Cam and Rhee.

Haslingfield still has a high level of sewage overflows, although this may be due to problems with a sensor being incorrectly positioned. As the sensor was relocated in September 2021, shortly before Cam Valley Forum’s vist, we hope to see a very much reduced duration of overflows in 2022.

Melbourn overflows are increasing worryingly, which maybe explains why we saw very high levels of E-coli in the River Mel just downstream of the Sewage Works when we tested it on 19 January 2022. Anglian Water say this is due to “Ground water inundation”, but the River Mel Restoration Group are right to be concerned.

Concerningly, over the last 3 years, the duration of Sewage Overflows from Cambridge Riverside has been steadily increasing, although from a low level.

OFWAT requires water companies to reduce sewage overflows

OFWAT have just sent a letter to the chief execs of all water companies, instructing them to publish specific plans to reduce the harm from storm overflows from Sewage Treatment Works before the end of April 2022.

David Black, Interim Chief Executive of OFWAT says: “To achieve this change in performance, I expect companies to publish their plans, for their customers and the wider public to see, to reduce the harm to river water quality from their activities including those caused by storm overflows. This plan should be specific about the actions you will take, including their impact and time frames for delivery for the period to end of March 2025. To ensure early action and engagement, plans should be published before the end of April 2022. This plan should be seen as an opportunity to give the public confidence that companies are proactively taking steps to address these important issues”

He comments that the water companies are required “to understand their impact on the environment and human health and be able to measure and monitor their progress in addressing these impacts.”

Cam Valley Forum looks foward to seeing Anglian Water’s plan, and will be sharing our views on whether it’s adequate to “give the public confidence”

CVF Annual Lecture and AGM: 24 March 2022

If you were unable to attend, here are the presentations

Venue

The Hall, Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington, Cambridge. This is a 15 minute cycle ride from the Centre of Cambridge, and on the Universal Bus route. IF travelling by car, free parking is available at Madingley Park & Ride, which is a 5-10 minute walk away. More details here

Lecture: Expedition to the Source of the Cam, by Mike Petty MBE

Our most distinguished local historian MIKE PETTY MBE will illustrate James Plumptre’s 1800 account of his walk from Cambridge to Ashwell, supplemented by observations from Samuel Pickwick’s “Cambridge Scrapbook” of 1838. Plumptre’s personal notes are held in the Cambridge University Library. They are the subject of formal research by Ian Ousby in his “James Plumtre’s Britain: The Journals of a Tourist”.

Mike has been the most widely acknowledged authority on the Cambridge area for more than 50 years. He has received the MBE and the prestigious, national T.C.Farries Award for his services. A former Librarian of the Cambridgeshire Collection he is President of the Cambridgeshire Association for Local History. He has published extensively and is a regular contributor to radio and television.

Cam Valley Forum AGM: 6:40pm for 7pm

Prior to the lecture you are warmly invited to the AGM of the Cam Valley Forum at 6.40 for 7pm, in The Studio. If you would like to join the Forum, or become more closely involved with the Forum in any way, please contact the Membership Secretary davidbrooks@btinternet.com . The annual subscription for members is £10. Do send us any relevant details of your interests and experience. If a member has a motion they would like to put to this meeting, please email info@camvalleyforum by 10 March.

If members would like to join the management committee, or nominate someone else, please email us at info@camvalleyforum by the same date, including the following information: name of nominee, name of proposer, and, if possible, name of seconder

Raw sewage leak into Bourn Brook

On 11 Feb we discovered a disgustingly smelly leak of raw sewage, flowing into Bourn Brook. It was probably coming from a broken underground sewage pipe between Caldecote and Bourn Sewage Treatment Works.

Our volunteer says:

“I was taking a water sample from Bourn Brook for a CVF phosphate project on Wednesday afternoon and noticed a muddy and wet patch on the headland  in a field of cereal opposite my sampling point.  This close to Main Street bridge just within the Caldecote boundary.  There was no water flowing from it.  A sign on the gate into this field had P.X. Farms Ltd, Caucote Hill.  It was obvious that there had been recent water movement from the patch down the bank and into the Bourn Brook.  I assumed it was surface water collecting off the field which slopes towards the Brook.

“I was passing there this afternoon and took another look.  At 4.52pm water was gushing out of the headland patch, with two geysers reaching 10cm high, and a considerable amount of water was entering the Brook.  It smelt of sewage from the road bridge, and closer to it there was surface scum, a stronger sewage smell and some cloth and plastic looking wipes.  The distribution of these materials around the edge of the patch suggested that at some previous time the upward flow out of the ground there had been stronger. 

“I phoned the AWS number at 4.54 and reported in the incident and was told that someone would visit within four hours.  After 10 minutes the gushing stopped, and it was not gushing at 5.45.  There is a AWS pumping station 100m away, and the headland patch is roughly in a line towards Bourn STW from it.    

I believe that this overspill has been occurring intermittently for at least two days.  Unfortunately my photos don’t show the spill well.  A grey-brown plume in the water from the entry point looks like soil.  “

Raw sewage from flowing from broken sewage pipes is likely to be one of the reasons why the results of our tests for faeces in the Cam were so bad last month.

This this sort of thing is happening all the time. It must stop.

Grantchester Meadows restoration project

Cam Valley Forum is pleased to be collaborating with the local Wildlife Trust and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group on an exciting pilot project to restore heavily eroded areas of the Grantchester Meadows river bank.

The project has been offered a total of nearly £10,000 in funding, so long as the community can match this, and so long as we can complete the work before the end of March 2022.

Do join us in supporting this project, using the “Donate” button here

Read more about the Grantchester Meadows Project

Grantchester Meadows River Bank 3 - Ruth Hawksley
Grantchester Meadows – C. Ruth Hawksley

The Grantchester Meadows Riverbank Pilot will address some of the severe erosion to the banks of the River Cam at Grantchester Meadows. Use of the banks by cattle, people and dogs has led to bank erosion, removal of marginal vegetation and silt inputs to the river, which can impact on water quality. Areas of cattle trampling adjacent to footpath gates has also created safety issues, particularly noticeable in winter. 

The project will create two new “cattle drinks” – gently sloping access points to the river with a hard stone base – so that cattle can get to the river safely while reducing erosion and siltation. Soil from the work will be used to repair banks next to the footpath, which will then be protected with a short stretch of fence.  Marginal vegetation is expected to thrive in these areas, providing refuge for water vole, waterfowl and invertebrates. The aim is to trial ways to rebuild and protect the banks using natural materials, and to learn lessons which can be applied to other areas of Grantchester Meadows.

Please consider making a donation to support this vital work to protect the riverbanks and keep Grantchester Meadows special. This work is being conducted by the Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with Cam Valley Forum and FWAG East on behalf of the landowner.