Biodiversity in our waterways

Reintroduction of plantlife

As well as providing our Licence for Water Abstraction to generate electricity, Environment Agency have so many different functions and are helping us in so many ways:

• sharing our concern with the Millpond leak and are advising us, where possible and practicable;
• offering talks to groups, and also providing pictures and information for publication on our stretch of the River Dour environment, including all wildlife, invertebrates, water plants, brown trout, and many other species of animals and plant;
• watercourse and waterflow management because over the years the way the river flows through and passed the Mill has become uneven and needs to be properly managed and maintained again, equally on both sides of the Mill;
• EA Operations Delivery staff have used a small machine to enhance the depth of a low - flow channel in the river and have hand raked the riverbed to re-create natural meanders and pools. This should enhance the biodiversity in river and improve the spawning sites for wild brown trout;
• this is also beneficial improving the efficiency of the waterwheel by reducing backwash. The wheel no longer sits in water, the way it was originally designed to work.

At this stage, of particular importance is the introduction to the River Dour a plant which is typically a characteristic, defining water plant of a chalk stream or river. It is curiously absent from the River Dour and is being reintroduced in our stretch of the river first.

Water Crowfoot - "Ranunculus" - is like a missing part of the puzzle of the natural habitat, most unusual. Some of the benefits are that it grows submerged in the channel, it cleans the gravel for trout; it has beautiful white flowers in the spring and helps aerate the water. It is good for invertebrates to eat and it substantially increases biodiversity.