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The Water Act of 1973 placed a responsibility on Water Authorities to have a greater
regard to the effects of their actions on the environment, whilst the 1981 Wildlife and
Countryside Act imposed a duty on Water Authorities to further conservation. This
caused Thames Water to give greater consideration as to how their work was to be carried
out, not only work on rivers but also other activities such as cross country pipe laying,
reservoir use and maintenance, and use of the Authorities land.
The Nature Conservancy Council was approached and assisted in compiling records of all
SSSIs in the 13,000 square Km of the Thames catchment. Local groups such as County
Naturalists' Trusts were contacted for specific local knowledge. Water Authority staff
engaged on designing and carrying out work were advised so as to safeguard and possibly
enhance an area's wildlife. Publications were produced by the NCC, Water Space
Amenity Commission, RSPB and BTCV to spread knowledge, and in 1984 a
conservation officer was appointed by Thames Water to ensure engineers were aware of,
and used, the best knowledge available.
Once the initial knowledge and instruction was imparted and an example set, the work
necessary could be carried out more sensitively, since many of the staff are keen
naturalists themselves and welcome the opportunity to put other ideas into practice. It is
claimed that conservation has received priority consideration in river work and meetings
with conservation groups are held regularly to discuss maintenance work, projects and
river wildlife surveys.
Thames Water also owns land associated with sewage works and reservoirs and some of
this land has been developed as nature reserves, for instance at Maple Lodge near
Rickmansworth where land is managed by the Maple Lodge Conservation Society set up
by Thames Water. There are similar schemes at Kings Langley, at Banbury and at a
reservoir site in Walthamstow.
Mistakes are less frequently made now but difficulties arise when wildlife interests clash
with the requirements of the Water Authority's prime functions. Difficulties can also
arise when leisure activities clash with wildlife needs but sometimes it is possible to
compromise. It is the Conservation Officer's intention to have the Authority's work
carried out in a conservation minded manner, with consultations as a normal part of the
job. Whilst there are hopes that existing sites will be maximised from a wildlife point of
view, with the Authority's contributions being acknowledged, comments have been made
that showpieces like Maple Cross are counterbalanced by the "business as usual" attitude
elsewhere.
A report in The Guardian newspaper for 21st December 1987 says that the quality of
some bottled water can be inferior to tap supplies, which are also considerably cheaper.
The Water Authorities Association says that public supplies are both safe and cheap and
filters are not necessary with tap supplies. Bacterial quality in bottled water stored in
warm conditions for lengthy periods may well be sub-standard whilst some filters may
even encourage bacterial growth. Perhaps surprisingly individuals showed preference for
tap supplies in blind tests.
Friends of the Earth have drawn attention to the need for Water Authorities to filter out
polluting organic substances such as pesticide residues, in order to raise standards to
Common Market levels. Attention has also been drawn to the need for member states to
introduce controls and standards in water quality, and for greater public awareness of
water pollution dangers.
Ken Hill
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 23, November 1997-