Colne Management Catchment
About
The catchment is a unique collection of rivers, ranging from internationally rare chalk rivers in the north, to canals, rivers and lakes, which have been heavily influenced by gravel extraction and urban development to the south. The northern part of the catchment predominantly lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, recognised as a landscape of national importance. Chalkstreams are an intrinsic part of this special landscape, and have a centuries old connection to the people and communities living, working and visiting in the area. Southwards, the catchment extends via a green/blue corridor and the Colne Valley Park, connecting to the urban populations in and around northwest London. The Park covers 40 square miles, and hosts a mosaic of farmland, woodland, 200 miles of rivers and canals and many lakes. As in the north of the catchment, the area is a living, working environment, providing employment and homes for people. Throughout the catchment there are delights and problems in equal measure. A majority of water for people and business is abstracted from important groundwater within the catchment. Some rivers are fed by this made worse and suffer from low flows during dry weather, something which is exacerbated by abstraction. In the future, the demand for water for people, business and the environment may well increase beyond the capacity available locally. River users, businesses and organisations are working together to identify ways of reducing abstraction, using water more wisely and improving the quantity and quality of water in the environment.
Classifications data for Colne 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 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
Lake | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Coastal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Estuarine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Groundwater | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 10 | 10 | 6 | 26 |
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 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
Number of water body elements | 8 | 16 | 29 | 26 | 136 | 215 |
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 | 26 | 0 | 26 |
Number of water body elements | 52 | 317 | 369 |
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 Colne 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 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
Domestic general public | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Industry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Local & central government | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mining and quarrying | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Navigation | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No sector responsible | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Recreation | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sector under investigation | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Urban and transport | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
Waste treatment and disposal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Water Industry | 19 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
Total | 22 | 1 | 57 | 0 | 13 | 38 | 33 |
Objectives data for Colne 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 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
By 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
By 2027 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 15 |
Total | 0 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 26 |
Chemical status objectives for surface water bodies
Including those with less stringent objectives and extended deadlines
Status | Fail | Good | Total |
---|---|---|---|
By 2063 | 0 | 26 | 26 |
Total | 0 | 26 | 26 |
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 |
Summary Statistics data for Colne Management Catchment
Ecological status and potential
Summary statistic | Rivers, Canals and SWTs | Lakes | Estuaries | Coastal | Surface Waters Combined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
% of water bodies at good or better ecological status/potential | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||
% of biological elements, phys-chem elements and specific pollutants at good or better status | 79% | 46% | 75% | ||
% of water bodies with an objective of good ecological status/potential or better | 63% | 50% | 58% | ||
% of biological elements, phys-chem elements and Specific Pollutants with an objective of good status or better | 94% | 63% | 90% |
Chemical
Summary statistic | Rivers, Canals and SWTs | Lakes | Estuaries | Coastal | Surface Waters Combined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
% of water bodies at good chemical status | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||
% of chemical elements at good status | 88% | 80% | 86% | ||
% of water bodies at good chemical status without uPBT | 100% | 100% | 100% | ||
% of chemical elements at good status without uPBT | 100% | 100% | 100% | ||
% of water bodies with an objective of good chemical status | 100% | 100% | 100% | ||
% of chemical elements with an objective of good | 100% | 100% | 100% | ||
% of water bodies with an objective of good chemical status without uPBT | 100% | 100% | 100% | ||
% of chemical elements with an objective of good without uPBTs | 100% | 100% | 100% |