THE CONTROL OF RIVERS 255
THE CONTROL OF RIVERS
BY H. B. ROWNTREE, B.SC, A.M.I.C.E.
[Read 28 January 1950]
INTRODUCTORY
IN presenting a paper to the Essex Field Club with such a
title as I have chosen, I feel some trepidation, in as much as
the phrase itself implies a straightforward interference with
nature, an action which must run counter to the feelings of many
members. Nevertheless, such interference has been going on in
this country for many years, and must continue as long as Man
intends to use the land for his own purposes. It is part of the
everyday scene. The art of such control lies in its exercise in such
a way that, firstly, the community as a whole does not suffer as a
consequence of the selfish action of a few; and, secondly, the re-
sources of nature are not thoughtlessly wasted. As to how far such
control is properly brought to bear, ought to be a matter for pub-
lic concern. Yet it is a subject that interests most people very little,
and the average townsman scarcely at all.
For the past fifteen years I have been on the staff of Catchment
Boards in Essex, Somerset, Suffolk, and the Lee Valley; and if in
this paper I enlarge rather more on those aspects of river control
peculiar to southern rivers, I would plead that this is because I
wish to refer, as far as possible, to those instances whereof I have
myself had some experience.
RIVERS IN THE NATURAL STATE, AND IN THE RECENT PAST
Before England was peopled to any great extent, the country-
side must have presented a very different aspect to what we now
regard as the English rural scene. In fact it is commonly acknow-
ledged that, even only 300 years ago, the face of the countryside
was very different from its present appearance. If we go back, say,
2000 years, it would seem that the south of the country was a series
of zones of forest, grassland, and fen, with small settlements of
people in certain isolated places that possessed any distinct natural
advantages. As the civilisation of the country proceeded, more and
more forest was cleared for use as farmland; and the swamps were
gradually drained, to provide pasturage for livestock. Ultimately,
the only lands to remain in their natural state were those that were
too poor, economically, to justify any attempt at their cultivation;
or else those lands that had been specifically protected or pre-
served.
The effect of such development of the country upon the water-
courses has been a general dewatering of the whole surface of the
land. A natural forest is a great conserver of moisture, retarding
the flow of surface water by its vegetation, whether such is live or