Welcome to the website of the Lea Catchment Partnerships – bringing together people and projects for the benefit of the River Lea and its tributaries.
The River Lea and its tributaries - the Mimram, Beane, Ash, Rib, Quin and Stort - drain over 1000 km2 of south-east England. These rivers include rare and precious chalk streams, canals and navigations, and urban watercourses.
The Storymap for the partnership can be read here.
To view the catchment plans navigate using the map opposite or the menu bars above.
Each Catchment Partnership is made up of people and organisations who are working to improve the rivers for people and for wildlife. The partnerships were formed between 2012 and 2014 and include a wide range of organisations, from landowners, local community groups and charities to councils and government agencies.
Each partnership is being ‘hosted’ by one organisation, who brought the partnership together. The role of these 'catchment hosts' is to organize and co-ordinate the many different members of the partnerships, and drive the catchment plans forward . They also act as the initial contact point for any enquiries about each catchment, and arrange the regular catchment partnerhip meetings and workshops. It is also the responsibility of these catchment hosts to maintain the catchment websites and social media accounts.
The catchment hosts for the rivers of the Lea Catchment are detailed below:
Groundwork: Catchment hosts for the Luton Lea
Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust: Catchment hosts for the: Upper Lea; Middle Lea; Lower Lea; Mimram; Beane; Rib & Quin; Ash and Stort
Thames21: Catchment hosts for the London Lea
The UK’s rivers are not as healthy as they should be. Although many have improved dramatically over the past few decades, current problems include pollution, invasive non-native species, abstraction and physical modifications such as weirs.
This situation has been recognized at a European level by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The WFD is a piece of legislation which became UK law in 2003. It states that all UK waterbodies (including rivers, lakes, seas) must reach ‘good ecological status’ by 2027. This means they should be clean and healthy, and contain the ‘right’ type and number of animals and plants. The UK has a legal obligation to meet this target. Rivers can be classified: 'Bad', 'Poor', 'Moderate', 'Good', or 'High'. Various categories of things are measured to assess their status: Fish, Invertebrates, Diatoms (microscopic plants and animals), Aquatic plants, The amount of water (i.e. flow), and Water quality. The Water Framework Directive is the driver for much of the work being done in our river catchments, including our own Catchment Management Plans.
The Catchment Based Approach was piloted by Defra in 2012 and launched nationally in 2013. The aim is to establish catchment partnerships formed of local people, landowners and statutory bodies, which will work collaboratively across all the catchments in England. The hope is that this collaborative, bottom-up approach will be more successful at improving our rivers than previous approaches, which were lead from above by statutory organisations. The ultimate aim of the Catchment Based Approach is to help the UK meet our targets under the WFD.
Our Vision
The Upper Lea catchment is a tapestry of priority chalk rivers, historic canals, navigations and urban rivers, that weave amongst internationally important wetlands, flooded gravel pits and lakes, in both rural and urban settings. Our vision is to see all watercourses flowing year round with plentiful, quality water that supports its characteristic flora and fauna. Our partnership aims to restore and maintain these ecosystems, both above and below ground, boosting the catchment's natural capital and value for people and wildlife. Through encouraging people to value and learn about their local river, as well as supporting them to manage the catchment more wisely, our partnership aims to engender a sense of stewardship and embed a water-friendly approach within communities across the catchment.
Serious pollution incidents can occur in our watercourses, spelling disaster for river ecology. Regular monitoring is the best way of identifying such incidents early and enabling a rapid response.
The Angler’s Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) was launched by the Riverfly Partnership in 2007 to enable anglers and other interested groups to actively monitor and protect their local rivers. It helps rivers to be monitored more widely and at greater frequency than is possible by the Environment Agency alone.
The ARMI monitoring technique involves pairs of volunteers taking 3-minute kick samples from the river bed each month, and recording the presence and abundance of eight pollution-sensitive invertebrate groups. The focus of the sampling is on ‘riverflies’ - mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies. If invertebrate numbers drop below expected levels the Environment Agency are informed and will take action to investigate the suspected pollution incident. The Riverfly data held by each river group will also allow for long-term changes to be identified, and the regular presence of volunteers on the river will discourage potential polluters.
ARMI is already used widely in the UK as a 'neighbourhood watch' for rivers, practiced by anglers, environmentalists and community groups. It has proven effective in identifying pollution incidents and ensuring action is taken. In several cases this has led to prosecution of polluters by the statutory authorities and has prevented similar future incidents. ARMI will be recognised on all Water Framework Directive River Basin Management Plans in England and Wales.
In the Lea catchment, Riverfly monitoring groups are active on the Upper Lea, Mimram, Beane and Ash.
The Chilterns, Hertfordshire & Middlesex Riverfly Hub
The Chilterns, Hertfordshire & Middlesex Riverfly Hub is a partnership, set up in 2014 to provide ARMI training to anyone wishing to monitor the health of rivers in the Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Chilterns areas. Jointly led by the Chilterns Chalk Stream Project and Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, the Hub coordinates Riverfly Monitoring across the area with the ultimate aim of setting up and supporting riverfly monitoring on every river in the Chilterns (including the Colne) and Hertfordshire.
The hub is able to provide training for volunteers through an annual programme of training workshops run by its five Riverfly Partnership accredited ARMI instructors. For more information, or to register your interest in becoming a Riverfly monitor, please contact the hub’s coordinators for This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
News
The riverfly newletter is available at https://www.chilternstreams.org/riverfly/
There will be a Riverfly Open Day at Boxmoor Trust Centre on Saturday 5th October, 12-4pm. This will include a variety of speakers and a taster/refresher kick-sampling session in the Bulbourne.
Please ensure to share this widely and register your attendance as venue capacity is limited: https://www.chilternstreams.org/events/riverfly-open-day/
The Herts & Chilterns Riverfly Hub is being supported by grants from Affinity Water, Natural England via the Lea Catchment Nature Improvement Area and Hertfordshire County Council. Our partners are:
