4-Apr-2006 - The Environment
Agency has published a consultation document on
the proposed strategy for managing water resources
of the Worcestershire Middle Severn, this area
includes the Rivers Worfe, Stour and Salwarpe
as well as the Dowles, Mor and Borle brooks and
all their tributaries.
The ‘Worcestershire Middle Severn
Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy’ (CAMS)
document sets out a framework for how water resources
should be managed.
It sets out the licensing system
for the removal, or abstraction, of water from
rivers or the ground and how water resources can
be protected for the future.
Water is a precious resource
and there are competing priorities between the
needs of public water supply, agriculture, power
companies, industry, navigation and recreation.
CAMS will make more information
on water resources publicly available. It will
also allow the balance between the needs of abstractors,
other water users and the water environment to
be considered, in consultation with the local
community and other interested parties.
When the strategy is finished,
it will set out the licensing practice for taking
water out of the Worcestershire Middle Severn
area and identify how this should be managed in
a sustainable way. The strategy will then be reviewed
every six years.
Environment Agency Regulatory
Officer, Helen Tidridge, said: "Water is
a vital resource. It is important that we manage
it in a sustainable way so as to protect the river
for future generations, but we must regulate it
in a way that is fair to everyone. The comments
that people send in to us will help us to achieve
that balance."
A copy of the consultation document
will also be posted on the Environment Agency’s
website www.environment-agency.gov.uk. Copies
can also be obtained from Helen Tidridge at the
Environment Agency, Hafren House, Welshpool Road,
Shelton, Shrewsbury SY3 8BB or by e-mail request
to cams.uppersevern@environment-agency.gov.uk.
We welcome any comments or queries
on the Worcestershire Middle Severn Catchment
Abstraction Management Strategy, these should
be made in writing to Helen Tidridge at the above
address by 30th June 2006.
More Information
Catchment
According to Chambers Dictionary,
a catchment is ‘the area of land that is drained
by a particular river system or lake.’
Abstraction
Abstraction is the removal of
water, either permanently or temporarily, from
rivers, canals, reservoirs or underground rocks.
The main challenge is to meet the reasonable needs
of abstractors while leaving enough water in the
environment to conserve aquatic habitats, and
for other water users.
Catchment Abstraction Management
Strategies (CAMS)
The development of CAMS was
one of a number of proposals made by the Government
following a review of the abstraction licensing
system in 1999. There are 129 CAMS areas in England
and Wales, where abstraction is controlled by
a licensing system that was introduced in 1965.
This system is administered by the Environment
Agency. In 1999 the Government reviewed the licensing
system and identified a number of changes. Foremost
among these was the proposal for Catchment Abstraction
Management Strategies (CAMS). Another key outcome
of the Government’s review was the decision that
abstraction licences should be time-limited. CAMS
will be the mechanism for managing time-limited
licenses by determining whether they should be
renewed and, if so, on what terms.
