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Hydro Resource Evaluation Tool
environmental implications
Are you on an over-abstracted river?
To take or impound water from a watercourse in NW England will probably need a licence granted by the Environment Agency. Even if no licence is needed it is still worth contacting the Agency early in the planning phase; they can be extremely helpful! Their web-site is well designed and answers questions about the objectives and needs for licences. A licence is needed for any abstraction for more than about 20 cubic metres of water a day (4,000 gallons),
One of the main reasons for abstraction licences is to prevent too much water being removed to the detriment of other users and the environment. It is important that you recognise the needs of existing users as they may object to your installation; other users are not only those who abstract water (e.g. industrial and agricultural interests), but also recreational users (including fishing, canoeing, swimming, rambling, etc.).
The Environment Agency manages the abstraction through geographically defined Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies (CAMS) dividing the NW England into 14 catchments; reports describing the current strategy (updated every 6 years) can be downloaded from the web-site. The reports will provide the abstraction status of every watercourse (classified as water available, no water available, over-licensed and over-abstracted).
Indicative Resource Availability Status |
Water Availability |
|---|---|
Water available |
Water is likely to be available at all flows including low flows. Restrictions may apply. |
No water available |
No water is available for further licensing at low flows. Water may be available at higher flows with appropriate restrictions. |
Over-licensed |
Current actual abstraction is such that no water is available at low flows. If existing licences were used to their full allocation they could cause unacceptable environmental damage at low flows. Water may be available at high flows, with appropriate restrictions. |
Over-abstracted |
Existing abstraction is causing unacceptable damage to the environment at low flows. Water may still be available at high flows, with appropriate restrictions |
Whatever the status of your watercourse it is worth contacting the Agency. Even where systems are currently over-abstracted, work to remedy the situation and availability at times of high flow (usually winter when energy demands are highest) may still make some development possible.
The Environment Agency are also responsible for water quality which influences both conservation and the use of water (e.g. fisheries); this can be disrupted more during the deployment phase than in the routine operation. They are also responsible for the installation and maintenance of weirs and fish passes. As little money is currently available for new modification of watercourses (e.g. building new weirs) and extensive modification is not generally seen as beneficial to the environment it is better if developments match their existing environment. However, where modification has been made in the past and an installation includes an existing structure the Agency may look more favourably on the development and even look to restore or maintain elements during development.
Action: Check CAMS report and ask Environment Agency.
