River Wiske

River Wiske

Willow Beck

South Otterington Beck

EA assessment: dissolved oxygen levels, phosphate levels, phytobenthos, invertebrates and fish

Flooding

  • Brompton and Northallerton
  • Limited ability of land upstream to store water

Water pollution

  • Diffuse water pollution from agricultural run-off
  • Siltation from sediment washed out of fields, eroding banks and livestock poaching
  • Organic pollution from sewage overflows and waste water treatment

Low biodiversity

  • Ecologically poor or moderate
  • Arable land and offers little habitat for wildlife
  • Invasive non-native species present such as Himalayan Balsam

Mapping

  • Collation of existing knowledge and previous work in the area
  • Co-ordination with PhD student doing flood risk mapping for Brompton flood group – looking at ways to get biodiversity gains into plans for flood alleviation

Landowner engagement

Lots of enthusiasm from local landowners – a note in Catchment Sensitive Farming newsletter generated lots of   responses and ideas for works needed