Welland Management Catchment
About
The River Welland rises west of Market Harborough, flowing 65 miles to the Wash, picking up the Glens catchment from the north. From the rolling hills west of Stamford, the character of the river changes to a fenland river below Stamford, and a tidal river at Spalding, before discharging to the Wash. The catchment is largely rural, but includes Market Harborough, Stamford, Spalding, north Peterborough, and Bourne. Mixed farming predominates in the catchment, but below Stamford arable and market gardening predominates on the fenland. Water management in this area is shared by the Environment Agency and Internal Drainage Boards. The Welland catchment is an important surface water source of public water supply. Rutland Water, the largest man-made reservoir in England, provides water for the urban areas of Kettering, Northampton and Peterborough. The site is also important for wildlife and recreation. The Glens catchment provides a source of potable groundwater and water for agriculture. The rivers Welland and Glen are popular with anglers, containing typical coarse fish populations and trout. Otters are becoming increasingly common. During the 1970s, much of the Welland catchment was altered as part of a flood alleviation and land drainage programme. This changed the natural flow of the river and the efficient land drainage has led to loss of habitat. Due to these modifications it has been hard to achieve good status; however, improvements can be made. In the Fens the river has been modified to protect agricultural land from flooding and is integral to flood protection.
![Stretch of the River Welland, Upper Welland operational catchment](/catchment-planning/photos/managementcatchment/3112.jpg)
Classifications data for Welland Management Catchment
Number of water bodies
The number of water bodies in the river basin district. It shows whether these are natural, artificial (such as canals and reservoirs) or have been modified ('heavily modified') for particular uses.
Water body categories | Natural | Artificial | Heavily modified | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
River, canals and surface water transfers | 23 | 7 | 4 | 34 |
Lake | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Coastal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Estuarine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Groundwater | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 23 | 10 | 5 | 38 |
Ecological status for surface waters
Table summarises the current ecological status of surface water bodies. Water bodies are classified as being at high, good, moderate, poor or bad ecological status or potential.
Ecological status or potential | Bad | Poor | Moderate | Good | High | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of water bodies | 7 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 38 |
Number of water body elements | 16 | 27 | 52 | 45 | 207 | 347 |
Chemical status for surface waters
Table summarises the current chemical status of water bodies. These are classified as being at good or fail.
Chemical status | Fail | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Number of water bodies | 38 | 0 | 38 |
Number of water body elements | 81 | 440 | 521 |
Quantitative status for groundwater
Table summarises the quantitative status of groundwater water bodies. These are classified as being at good or poor.
Quantitative status | Poor | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Number of water bodies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Number of water body elements | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chemical status for groundwater
Table summarises the chemical status of groundwater water bodies. These are classified as being at good or poor.
Chemical status | Poor | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Number of water bodies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Number of water body elements | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Challenges data for Welland Management Catchment
Reasons for not achieving good status by business sector
The issues preventing waters reaching good status and the sectors identified as contributing to them. The numbers in the table are individual counts of the reasons for not achieving good status with a confidence status of 'confirmed' and 'probable', where the latest classification is less than good status. There may be more than one reason in a single water body. Note, table does not include reasons for deterioration.
Significant water management issue | Changes to the natural flow and level of water | Invasive non-native species | Physical modifications | Pollution from abandoned mines | Pollution from rural areas | Pollution from towns, cities and transport | Pollution from waste water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture and rural land management | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 0 |
Domestic general public | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Industry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Local & central government | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mining and quarrying | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Navigation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No sector responsible | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Recreation | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sector under investigation | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Urban and transport | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
Waste treatment and disposal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Water Industry | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
Total | 4 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 74 | 13 | 53 |
Objectives data for Welland Management Catchment
Ecological status or potential objectives for surface water bodies
Table summarises the ecological status and ecological potential objectives set for water bodies in the river basin management plan. Each water body is only counted once in this table. Each water body objective consists of a target status and a date when it was, or is expected to be, met.
Status | Bad | Poor | Moderate | Good | High | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
By 2015 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
By 2021 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
By 2027 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 19 |
Total | 1 | 1 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 38 |
Chemical status objectives for surface water bodies
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status | Fail | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
By 2063 | 0 | 38 | 38 |
Total | 0 | 38 | 38 |
Quantitative status objectives for groundwater
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status | Poor | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chemical status objectives for groundwater
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status | Poor | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |