Limestone Ribble Operational Catchment

About

Cam and Gayle Beck make up the headwaters of the River Ribble, they are high gradient and typical upland streams draining peat moorland and are also fed by limestone aquifers. The moors at the top of the catchment have been drained by grips. This causes changes in the run off through the peat and water chemistry. The trees were also removed to make way for agriculture and therefore the watercourses have unstable banks and spread widely leading to increased water temperature in the summer. This makes the waterbodies unsuitable for fish. Improvements in these headwaters will have environmental benefits for the full catchment downstream in terms of water quality and flood risk.