L. Wilbraham River Dries Up Again!

In mid June river flow stopped under the A1303 bridge and the related section of river between Hawk Mill Farm and Quy Mill Hotel has progressively dried up since then - along with the Fulbourn New Cut supplying water from Fulbourn Nature Reserve.

Recent rainfall in this area has been unusually low - and water demand (from the underlying aquifer) unusually high - resulting in groundwater depeletion affecting the river.

Augmentation support has been virtually continuous for the last year (but only utilised around 70% of the Annual Licence). It has kept an upstream section in water but more worryingly neither set of our natural springs actually operated during the last year. Cambridge Water Company has announced we are in a "Prolonged Dry Period" but not yet a formal drought - and no hosepipe ban despite the environmental impacts.

As ever the Teversham Sewage Works with its continuous effluent output manages to keep the downstream Quy Water and Bottisham Lode in water.

We continue to try and persuade the Environment Agency to both monitor (and acknowledge) the dry sections properly and review the augmentation scheme efficacy.