The Environment Agency is inviting people to have their say about the best ways to tackle significant water management issues in the Severn River Basin, such as pollution from urban and rural areas, river flows and abstraction and non-native invasive species, in an effort to further protect and improve rivers, lakes and groundwater.
The Severn River Basin District covers an area of 21000 square kilometres and includes the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain, and its tributaries, including rivers that drain to the Severn Estuary such as the Wye, Usk and Bristol Avon.
The Environment Agency has published a consultation report for the Severn River Basin District called ‘River Basin Planning: Summary of Significant Water Management Issues’. This is an important step in the process of developing new and better ways in which the Environment Agency and others will work towards achieving the standards defined by the European Water Framework Directive by 2015.
The Water Framework Directive allows us to think about our water environment as a whole – whereas in the past, we’ve often worked on separate plans for addressing different environmental issues. With river basin planning, we now have the opportunity to improve, protect and manage our water environment in a more integrated way.
The consultation report sets out what we think are the most significant issues that face the Severn River Basin District and what measures and sectors we believe are involved. We want to know whether people think we have identified these correctly or whether there are other things we need to consider.
Responses to the consultation will help us develop a management plan for Severn River Basin, that will set out what we and others need to do to establish new and better ways of protecting and improving rivers, lakes, groundwater and estuary. We are currently looking at the issues strategically. How measures are delivered locally will be considered as we develop the draft management plan, to be published in December 2008.
Recent events clearly show that flooding is an important issue for the Severn Basin. The Water Framework Directive does not directly address flooding, this is dealt with in more detail as part of the Catchment Flood Management Planning process (www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/1217883/1217968/907676/).
We have worked with the Severn Liaison Panel (which represents the main sectors involved in river basin planning) to produce the report. We are now seeking opinions from anyone who the proposals may affect for example, people and organisations involved with farming and land management, industry, conservation, ports, town & country planning, as well as the public.
The document is now available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfd and we welcome people’s views on its proposals. The web-based system is quick and easy to use and has the advantage of allowing people to view other responses, and to copy their responses to other River Basin Districts if they wish. It greatly helps us to monitor, collate and report the responses efficiently. Therefore we encourage people to use it.
For those who are unable to access the internet and respond online, representations can be made via email to severnRBD@environment-agency.gov.uk, or in writing to: Environment Agency (Water Framework Directive Programme), Sapphire East, 550 Streetsbrook Road, Solihull, B91 1QT.
People can also write to us at this address to request a copy of the consultation document. The consultation ends on 24 January 2008 – and everyone’s views are welcome.
