"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
.. .

"Alan Gardiner" wrote in message
...

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
.. .
The river Lea runs past the bottom of my hill north of Luton town
centre,

The River Ver still seems to be flowing quite well near its source and
is in much better condition than it was several years ago (1997) when it
dried up as far as St Albans; this is probably a result of less water
abstraction at the Friars Wash pumping station which has been of
enormous benefit to the river.

Unlike the River Lea the Ver gets all of its water from springs; I
assume that the Lea is flowing well downstream of the sewage works
discharge (it may be fully treated but its origin can easily be
detected).

Alan, I have a vague memory, presumably from 1997, of the Ver
drying up all the way down to St Albans, ruining the watercress
beds. Is that right, or is it an older memory intruding?

pe


Phillip

Not too sure about '97 but certainly '95 and '90 however water abstraction
at Friars Wash was much higher then. Incidently I seem to remember that the
lower levels of abstraction were due to the diversion of water from the Lea
catchment around Luton. I could be wrong on this but if it were the case it
would smack of robbing Peter to pay Paul given the drying out of the Lea.

Regards Sean