WELCOME TO THE RIVER DARENT - RISING IN WESTERHAM, KENT AND MEETING THE THAMES AT DARTFORD
Example of an artificial spring
What makes the River Darent special ?
- It supplies local population with drinking water.
- In 1985 it was one of ten UK rivers likely to disappear.
- After considerable effort by the Environment Agency and water companies it still suffers from low flows and has been augmented by artificial springs
- The Darent is a chalk stream which creates an unusually diverse habitat for wildlife and vegetation.
- It provides fishing lakes which are potentially ideal for coarse fishing for leisure.
- It meanders through beautiful countryside and villages and delights residents and visitors.
Darent in Danger again
Given the low rainfall in 2017 and continued pressures from water abstraction, rivers all over the country and
especially chalk streams, are in danger.
Download the latest DRIPS newsletter HERE
Look at what the WWF is saying about UK rivers
The WWF website here
Follow the WWF campaign for rivers at Westminster October 2017 HERE
and read a WWF blog on Chalk Streams by Charles Rangeley Wilson HERE
Given the low rainfall in 2017 and continued pressures from water abstraction, rivers all over the country and
especially chalk streams, are in danger.
Download the latest DRIPS newsletter HERE
Look at what the WWF is saying about UK rivers
The WWF website here
Follow the WWF campaign for rivers at Westminster October 2017 HERE
and read a WWF blog on Chalk Streams by Charles Rangeley Wilson HERE
Annual Meeting: Acacia Hall Dartford
Thursday 21st September 2017 - all welcome
The evening will begin with a guided visit to a new project for the Darent at Acacia Hall in Dartford, led by Chris Gardner of SERT. Meet at 6.45 outside P&H Snacks Direct, 77 Powder Mill Land DA1 1NT.
The meeting will be at the DART pub, Chastilian Rd DA1 3JJ starting at 7.30pm. See map below for all 3 venues.
Non-members welcome.
Annual Meeting: Acacia Hall Dartford
Thursday 21st September 2017 - all welcome
The evening will begin with a guided visit to a new project for the Darent at Acacia Hall in Dartford, led by Chris Gardner of SERT. Meet at 6.45 outside P&H Snacks Direct, 77 Powder Mill Land DA1 1NT.
The meeting will be at the DART pub, Chastilian Rd DA1 3JJ starting at 7.30pm. See map below for all 3 venues.
Non-members welcome.
Past meetings:
2016: Visit to new fish bypass channel at Sundridge, led by Chris Gardner (SERT), Mike Gallant (NWKCP) and Peter Waring (EA) followed by AGM at the White Horse Inn.
2014: Bella Davies of SERT gave a presentation "Restoring the Resilience of our Rivers" which can be downloaded here.
To download the Summer 2014 edition of NEWSFLOW, click here.
To download the Chairman's report for 2014, click here.
River Darent - Living on the Edge ?
The Environment Agency has produced a document for riparian owners and managers.
Click on Living on the Edge to download the pdf.
The River Restoration Centre, to which we are affiliated, also publishes regular bulletins.
Click here for the Jan 2014 bulletin on "Back to Nature" flood management
The Darent Catchment Improvement Group, organised by the North West Kent Countryside Partnership in conjunction with the Environment Agency, are keen for everyone to get familiar with the river and to know h what you think would help improve it. Visit the NWKCP website to read about the Darent and the Cray.
The Environment Agency has produced a document for riparian owners and managers.
Click on Living on the Edge to download the pdf.
The River Restoration Centre, to which we are affiliated, also publishes regular bulletins.
Click here for the Jan 2014 bulletin on "Back to Nature" flood management
The Darent Catchment Improvement Group, organised by the North West Kent Countryside Partnership in conjunction with the Environment Agency, are keen for everyone to get familiar with the river and to know h what you think would help improve it. Visit the NWKCP website to read about the Darent and the Cray.
COMPLETION OF THE DARENT ACTION PLAN
At the Society's Annual Meeting in Eynsford on Wednesday 17th April 2013 we reviewed and celebrated the completion of the Darent Action Plan - a historic landmark for the river. To read the chairman's report and see presentations from the Environment Agency and Southern Water, click here
To read the Spring 2013 edition of the Society's NewsFlow Newsletter, click here and here
To read the Spring 2013 edition of the Society's NewsFlow Newsletter, click here and here
HISTORY of the DROUGHT and The DARENT ACTION PLAN
Poster from campaign in 2012
The Darent River Preservation Society (DRiPS) was established in 1985 at which time there was often a dry river bed in Shoreham, Eynsford or Farningham, especially when rainfall was low. This was largely the result of over-extraction. Prompted by DRiPS, the Environment Agency and the various water authorities together drew up a scheme to help restore the river - the River Darent Action Plan. This strategy is helping the river to recover, so that it now has the chance to remain a priceless asset for everybody young and old alike – a place to walk, go bird-watching, paint, paddle or fish, or to just sit on the banks and let the world go by.
Today, stretches of the Darent lie undisturbed, and in these places the natural habitat of the river can be maintained, where fish, animals, plants and other wildlife can thrive in peace.
However, such optimism does not mean that the threats to the river’s health and well-being have disappeared – far from it. Housing development throughout the catchment is increasing to meet the demands of a burgeoning population.
We must all understand more about our rivers and learn to take more care of our water.
Today, stretches of the Darent lie undisturbed, and in these places the natural habitat of the river can be maintained, where fish, animals, plants and other wildlife can thrive in peace.
However, such optimism does not mean that the threats to the river’s health and well-being have disappeared – far from it. Housing development throughout the catchment is increasing to meet the demands of a burgeoning population.
We must all understand more about our rivers and learn to take more care of our water.
All about Aquifer Storage Recovery - what is ASR?
Aquifer Storage and Recovery is a system where at times of surplus, water is deliberately pumped into underground aquifers and stored there for subsequent abstraction. Thames Water has developed a trial scheme at Horton Kirby to store good quality water in the Lower Greensand aquifer which is separated from the Chalk aquifer by 69m of impermeable Gault Clay, thereby isolating the abstraction from the river. Read more...
It is a significant new development in helping to store our drinking water.
See Thames Water press release of March 2015 here.
WWTOnline press release here
Aquifer Storage and Recovery is a system where at times of surplus, water is deliberately pumped into underground aquifers and stored there for subsequent abstraction. Thames Water has developed a trial scheme at Horton Kirby to store good quality water in the Lower Greensand aquifer which is separated from the Chalk aquifer by 69m of impermeable Gault Clay, thereby isolating the abstraction from the river. Read more...
It is a significant new development in helping to store our drinking water.
See Thames Water press release of March 2015 here.
WWTOnline press release here
the European Water Framework Directive
It is highly laudable that the EU should set out plans for all the River Basins across Europe. But does one plan fit all? DRIPS feels that the European Water Framework Directive could impact badly on rivers such as the Darent that suffer from low flows.The WFD states that fish must be able to migrate freely (and we agree with that in principle), and it requires the Environment Agency (EA) to review all impoundments on the river and to remove ones it deems unnecessary. There are approximately 29 significant weirs or sluices on the Darent and many minor ones. The EA says it intends to remove all structures which impede the migration of fish. The alternative would be to install fish passes, but these are too expensive.
DRIPS does not believe the river at present is capable of supporting a self-replicating fishery and will not be able to do so until there is a more constant minimum flow. Removing these structures will only exacerbate the low flow to which the river is prone. In all of the surveys carried out on the Darent over many years – including the current Darent Action Plan – not one of them suggests that the removal of impounding structures would benefit the river.
Clearly, the Darent is not the Danube: DRIPS is anxious to raise public awareness and understand how the WFD will be interpreted.
In January 2013, our chairman wrote a letter to parish councils which will also be of interest to riparian owners. Click here to download.
DRIPS does not believe the river at present is capable of supporting a self-replicating fishery and will not be able to do so until there is a more constant minimum flow. Removing these structures will only exacerbate the low flow to which the river is prone. In all of the surveys carried out on the Darent over many years – including the current Darent Action Plan – not one of them suggests that the removal of impounding structures would benefit the river.
Clearly, the Darent is not the Danube: DRIPS is anxious to raise public awareness and understand how the WFD will be interpreted.
In January 2013, our chairman wrote a letter to parish councils which will also be of interest to riparian owners. Click here to download.
The Darent River Preservation Society is Reg Charity No 1002300