Environment Agency takes key advisory role in York Stream restoration plans
The Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Group (MWRG) has joined forces with the Environment Agency (EA) to try and make an ambitious waterways redevelopment a reality.
A major Water Resources Study for the MWRG, commissioned last summer, examined how much water the scheme would need to bring the waterway back to life and how it can be sourced. This week the Environment Agency has given a provisional go-ahead to the idea. The Environment Agency’s water resources team has reviewed the report and concluded that there is sufficient water available in the local river system to support the proposed scheme, dependent on the resolution of a number of technical conditions.
The report examined the available water supply in the area in relation to the needs of the restored waterway, concentrating on issues such as evaporation, losses through the bed and the need for a ‘sweetening flow’ to avoid algae build up. A further study by MWRG into the sustainability of the channel is ongoing, using boreholes sunk along the route. The Environment Agency is also carrying out its own study of flow and groundwater levels in the river system.
Although the Environment Agency has agreed in principle with the MWRG’s aims, the team of experts has already raised a number of issues for further investigation including flood risk, ecological impact and flow operating controls which would need to be addressed in order for the waterway plan to come to life.
Richard Davenport, Vice Chairman and Trustee for the Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Group, said: “Our Group is happy to be working so closely with the Environment Agency, as their advice is invaluable to us when working out the finer details of how we can make our ideas happen. We are especially pleased to receive its endorsement of the main conclusions of the Water Resources Study prepared for us by Black and Veatch. The Environment Agency’s comments on our report and agreement in principle to grant consent for the water flows needed, mark a major step forward in the Group’s technical feasibility work.”
The Environment Agency’s South East Area Manager, Peter Quarmby, said: “The MWRG’s plans to restore Maidenhead’s waterways present a perfect opportunity for the Environment Agency to achieve many of its ecological and recreational aims. The restoration of the York Stream has the potential to provide a wonderful habitat for wildlife and a pleasant destination for Maidenhead’s residents and visitors.
“However, our role when working on projects of this nature is to examine the needs of everyone that would be touched by the changes to the river. In Maidenhead, examining flood risk is a major priority, and the MWRG will need to work with us very closely to look at how they propose to manage water levels in the channel. This careful management of the water would have to be undertaken both in times of excessive rainfall and in times of drought, which have been seen in Maidenhead in recent years.
“Working with the Group we will also examine a number of other issues including health and safety concerns related to low bridges and who will undertake maintenance and upkeep of the channel.”
Plans for restoring Maidenhead’s waterways are backed by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and are expected to form part of the updated Local Development Framework and associated action plans to rejuvenate Maidenhead town centre.
