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Area Administrative Boundaries

Regional Boundary

Area Office

Regional Headquarters

KENT AREA

SUSSEX AREA

HAMPSHIREAREA

Maidstone

Worthing

Winchester

E N V I R O N M E N T A G E N C YG E N E R A L E N Q U I R Y L I N E

0845 933 3111

E N V I R O N M E N T A G E N C YE M E R G E N C Y H O T L I N E

0800 80 70 60

E N V I R O N M E N T A G E N C YF L O O D L I N E

0845 988 1188

Lymington

Milford-on-Sea

Wes

tern

Yar

Tho rleyBrook

Weste

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Have

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Caul

Bour

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Rodge Brook

Rive rM

edina

Palm

er's

Bro

okEa

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B la ckbridge Brook

Scot

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rook

Yarmouth

Newport

Cowes

Ryde

Sandown

Shanklin

BrighstoneShorwell

Totland

Freshwater

Northwood

EastCowes

WoottonFishbourne

St Helens

Nettlestone

Bembridge

Ventnor

St Lawrence

Niton

Godshill

Newtown River

Brading

0 5km

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St. Catherine'sPoint

TheNeedles

The SolentThe Solent

Rive rM

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Woo

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Cree

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Easte

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Yar

Watercourse

Built up area

SSSI

KEY

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Environment Agency - a betterenvironment in England and Walesfor present and future generations.

The Environment Agency is one of theworld's most powerful environmentalwatchdogs, regulating air, land andwater. As 'guardians of theenvironment' the Agency has legalduties to protect and improve theenvironment throughout England andWales and in doing so contributestowards 'sustainable development' -meeting the needs of today withoutharming future generations.

Created by the 1995 Environment Act,the Agency started work in 1996. It isofficially a 'non-departmental publicbody', which means that the

organisation works for the public andhas specific duties and powers.

Nationally, around 15 million hectaresof land are managed by the Agencyalong with 36,000km of rivers and5,000km of coastline, including morethan 2 million hectares of coastalwaters.

There are eight regional offices, whichare split into 26 area offices. SouthernRegion covers the counties of Kent,Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle ofWight.

Front cover photographs:Main picture - Eastern YarTop inset - Godshill ChurchBottom inset - Sea defences Freshwater Bay

R i v e r s o f t h e

I s l e o f W i g h t

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History and Geology

Popular as a holiday destination withan ‘abroad feel’ to it, the Isle of Wightis the largest Island off the Englishcoast. It is separated from Hampshireby the Solent and bounded by theEnglish Channel on its south side.

Evidence suggests that the first settlers,the New Stone Age communities,arrived on the Island sometime after4,000 BC. As the population expandedlarge areas of woodland were clearedfor agriculture and by the Middle Agesthe Island had become a mixedagricultural landscape.

By Tudor times seven deer parks hadbeen created. Queen Victoria andPrince Albert added their royal seal ofapproval when they made OsbourneHouse their Island home, causing alarge development of Victorian villasand gardens to spring up.

The Island formed part of themainland until well after the last iceage. Despite its small size – 381 km2

(155 square miles) – the Isle of Wighthas a varied geology and its rocks and

clay contain Europe’s most abundantdinosaur fossil beds.

There are three distinct rockformations, the Tertiary Clays andSands to the north, the central chalkridge that once connected TheNeedles to the chalk of the Isle ofPurbeck and the Greensands, Gaultand Wealden Clays to the south of theisland. These rocks were laid downover a period of time dating back tothe Cretaceous (135 million years ago)and the Tertiary (65 million years ago)timescales. The last two million years(Quaternary) complete the geologicalstory of the island.

The Island’s topography reflects thegeology and forms distinctive areas ofthe landscape:

● high central ridge of chalk downs and the Southern Chalk Downs

● the Greensand ridge● northern clay pastures● intensively managed southern

coastal plains, river valleys and dramatic coastline

Wightlink ferry at Fishbourne

South Wight coast

Main picture: South Wight coast

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Rivers

Apart from a few small brooks on thesouth coast, all the Island’s streamsflow northwards. Included amongthese are the Western Yar, NewtownRiver (Caul Bourne) and the Palmer’s,Blackbridge and MonktonmeadBrooks.

There are five main estuary systems –the Eastern Yar, Western Yar,Newtown, Medina and WoottonCreek. All share common features oftidal mudflats and shingle, saltmarshand varying amounts of fringing

woodlands. The Island’s estuaries arethe remnants of once large valleysystems that carried rivers into thegreat Solent estuary.

Rivers not fed from the chalk aquiferlike the Merstone Stream or ThorleyBrook tend to have a ‘flashy’ responseto rainfall and suffer from naturally lowflows in the summer. However, riversfed by springs from the chalk likeLukely Brook do not tend to reactrapidly to rainfall except when coupledwith urban run off.

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Until well after the last ice age the Isleof Wight was part of the mainland. Amajor trunk stream, the Solent River,flowed eastwards from the River Fromein Dorset along the line of the Solentand Spithead, to outfall to the sea inthe Littlehampton area. Its northerntributaries would have included theAvon, Test and Itchen and its southerntributaries would have been thestreams which drained from thenorthern slopes of Purbeck and the Isleof Wight. The drainage system was

dismembered by the sea breaking intothe main channel between Purbeckand the Island.

This breach occurred as a result of adepression of the land, or rise in sealevel, which lasted until about 2000 BCand also led to the submergence ofthe downstream reaches of the Northflowing rivers, giving them their wellmarked estuaries. The Harbours ofYarmouth, Newtown, Cowes andWootton Creek owe their origins tothis movement.

Wootton Creek

Calbourne Mill

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Medina

The Isle of Wight’s major rivers are theMedina and the Eastern Yar. TheMedina rises as chalk springs from StCatherine’s Down on the south side ofthe Island. Medina is a latinised formof its Saxon name Medene meaningMiddle River. The Medina is 17kmlong, with a catchment area of 71 sqkm, and flows due north collectingthe Merstone Stream at Blackwaterbefore intersecting the ridge at Shide.It is a linear estuary enclosed by a lowvalley with plenty of industry andshipping and little marginalvegetation.

The Medina’s tributary, the LukelyBrook rises in the Bowcombe Valleyand joins the river at the head of theestuary in Newport – the Island’scapital. Lukely Brook is also subject totides and forms the northern boundaryof medieval Newport. It cuts throughthe chalk at Carisbrooke where, to theeast of the valley, sits the famouscastle.

From Newport to the sea at Cowes theriver is tidal.

Lukely Brook at Newport

Newport Quay

Newport Quay

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Western Yar

The Western Yar was once a river witha well developed system of tributaries,but the erosion of the channel coasthas destroyed its upper catchment.Protection works now prevent the seaflowing into the Western Yar atFreshwater Bay - the source of theriver. The river must once have beenone of the largest on the Island but isnow no more than a brook with adisproportionately large estuary. Abalanced landscape of fields, saltmarshand woods all add to the attractiveness

of the river. Afton Marsh reed bedsdominate the upper reach.

Creation of the harbour andbreakwater in 1843 - seven atYarmouth did much to change theshape of the lower reaches of theestuary, as did the building of a tide-mill and sluice gates in 1793 acrossthe Thorley Brook - the Western Yar’smain tributary. The bridge andharbour dominate the estuary mouth.

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for agriculture. Bembridge Harbourand the Yar were extensively modifiedin historic times by the construction ofcauseways, with land reclamation anddrainage above the causeway to StHelen’s. The dunes of the Duver are amarked contrast to the seafront andharbour, while the embankment of theYar upstream provides an unusual andattractive landscape of wet grazing.

Eastern Yar

The Eastern Yar is 27 km long andflows north east from springs at StCatherine’s Down collecting theWroxall Stream, Scotchell’s Brook anda number of small tributaries beforecutting through the central chalk ridgeat Brading. Until the 16th century theEastern Yar flowed into the sea at bothSandown and Bembridge. The wholeof this saltmarsh has been reclaimed

Western Yar at Freshwater Nature Reserve

Thorley Brook

Yarmouth Mill

Eastern Yar - Longbridge

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Greensand Groundwater Scheme andthe Medina Yar Transfer Scheme whichtakes groundwater from the LowerGreensand and transfers it to theMedina.

Water is then transferred from theMedina to the Yar to allow abstractionfrom the Yar at Sandown.

In 1988 the Island was chosen as thelargest pilot scheme area for meteringwater. Since the installation of watermeters at more than 51,000 homes,demand has reduced by 20%.

Water Quality

The Environment Agency has aresponsibility for the water quality ofall controlled inland waters and coastalwaters up to a limit of three nauticalmiles offshore.

Water quality is assessed by takingsamples of water and measuring the

Water Resources

The Environment Agency balancescarefully demands for water and theneeds of the environment through anabstraction licensing system.

Water is abstracted from the Island’srivers and groundwater for a range ofuses including public water supply,agriculture and industry. Conditionsmay be attached to the licence toprotect the rights of existing users andensure that the water environment,such as river flows and wetlands, arenot unacceptably affected.

The major aquifers on the Island arethe Chalk, the Upper Greensand andthe Lower Greensand. Abstractions forpublic water supply are from the twolargest rivers, the Eastern Yar andMedina.

Demand for public supply is thegreatest stress on water resources with86% of all licensed groundwaterabstraction for public supply. Nearly57% of surface water abstraction isalso for public supply.

In the past the Isle of Wight sufferedwater supply problems due to itslimited surface water sources and highsummer population. New sources ofsupply were developed including theCross-Solent Main, which involvespumping water from TestwoodReservoir in Hampshire. The Lower

Spray irrigation

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water service companies have agreedto implement over a five year period.The Agency, OFWAT and the DrinkingWater Inspectorate all have input intothese plans.

The natural quality of the streams isvariable. Those arising from chalksprings are well buffered and neutral,whereas those originating from therich sandstones may be acidic andrusty deposits can be seen on graveland vegetation. An example of thiscan be seen between the River Medinaand the Merstone Stream where theymeet at Blackwater. Iron depositsvividly stain the bed of the Merstone,draining from the Ferruginious Sandsof St George’s Down.

concentration of chemical pollutantswhich they contain. In addition,samples of the creatures which inhabitthe bed of the streams are taken toassess the health of the river.

As well as ensuring the suitability ofwater as a natural habitat, the Agencymust also ensure the quality of waterand resolve the many conflictingdemands made by society for drinkingwater, agriculture, industry, sewagetreatment, fisheries and recreation.

A close working relationship betweenthe Agency and local authorities andorganisations is vital to ensure thatwater quality objectives are consistentand complement one another. AssetManagement Plans (AMPs) arestrategic investment programmes that

Southern Water - Seaclean Wight

1312Cuckmere Estuary Exceat

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The Island’s rivers are mostly of goodwater quality, while groundwater is ofaverage quality. Particular stretches ofrivers periodically have poor waterquality, caused by specific discharges(eg from sewage treatment works).Tidal and estuarine waters aregenerally of good quality.

There is very little industrial dischargeand most water quality problems resultfrom surface water which has beencontaminated with oil before beingdischarged from drains. In particularthe Scotchell’s Brook at Sandownreceives significant diffuse pollution asa result of run-off from urban areas. Inrural areas there are occasionalpollution incidents from septic tanks orfrom farm slurry and silage. Otherproblems that can occur affectingwater quality include failure of sewagetreatment works (there are 23 on the

Island), leachate leakage from landfillsites, pollution from construction sitesand pesticides and nitrates.

The majority of water quality problemsoccur on the clay soils of the northernhalf of the Island where domesticseptic tanks can cause problems. Mostlivestock farming is carried out onthese less well drained soils and thenumber of agricultural pollutionsoccurring in these areas reflects this.The Agency is working in partnershipwith a number of organisations,including the IOW Council, Island2000, NFU, English Nature andSouthampton University to try andtackle the problem of diffuse pollutionon the Eastern Yar. Prompt reportingof pollution incidents by environmentconscious Islanders enables the Agencyto take early action.

Conservation

The Environment Agency has a duty topromote conservation and often workswith other organisations to further thisend. It is currently working with theIsland’s Biodiversity Action PlanPartnership which aims to safeguardkey species and habitats. The Island isof great natural interest with importanthabitats that support a number of rarespecies.

Key habitats include chalk grasslandand coastal areas. Coastal habitats arediverse with several internationallyimportant areas including saltmarshes,estuaries, saline lagoons, sea caves andsandflats.

Parkhurst Forest is a fine example ofancient woodland and there areseveral extensive areas of naturalgrasslands particularly on the heavy,poorly draining soils around NewtownHarbour.

The rivers of the Isle of Wight are smallcompared with those on the mainland.They may have been modified by riverengineering causing a lack of naturalfeatures like pool and riffle sequencesand meanders. However, in a numberof areas the rivers support a diverseaquatic flora – more common speciesinclude fool’s watercress, water mint,yellow flag and less common specieslike marsh mallow.

Some wetland species are protected byInternational nature ConservationDirectives and are found around theIsland’s coast with concentrations inand around the estuaries.

Nationally important mammals to befound are red squirrels and dormice.Twelve out of fifteen British bat specieslive in the island’s woodlands. Dartfordwarblers nest in the gorse covereddowns while the heathland gladesattract breeding nightjar, barn owls,wintering waterfowl and waders.

Western Yar marshes

South Wight coast

Seaclean Wight

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The slumping coastal cliffs support theonly persistent population of Glanvillebutterflies in Britain.

The Island has a large number andarea of European designatedconservation sites. The Solent andSouthampton Water Special ProtectionArea (SPA), (notified under the ECDirective on Wild Birds), includesseveral Isle of Wight SSSIs and has alsobeen designated a Ramsar Site. TheIsland contains four candidate SpecialAreas of Conservation (SACs),designated under the EC HabitatsDirective: the Solent Maritime; SouthWight Maritime; the Isle of WightLagoons; and the Isle Wight Downs.There are 43 Sites of Special ScientificInterest (SSSI) and 22 of them arewater dependent. The Isle of WightArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty(AONB) covers about half the island(189 sq km), taking in almost all of thesouth and west. Two stretches ofcoastline are designated HeritageCoasts and both are in the AONB.They are the Hampstead HeritageCoast around Newtown (length 10.8

km) and the Tennyson Heritage Coastfrom Totland to Ventnor (length 34.8km).

Chines are special features of theisland’s landscape. They are theremains of ancient river valleys,although now are mostly steep gulliesleading down to the sea. Rich ingeological and ecological interest, themajority of Chines can be found alongthe Island’s south west coast. TheEnvironment Agency in partnershipwith the Island 2000 Trust wonrecognition for their enhancement ofthe Chines.

A section of the Eastern Yar atLangbridge has undergone habitatimprovement with advice and helpfrom the Agency. Once a good coarsefishery and haven for kingfishers andwatervoles, the water had becomebadly overrun with small trees causinga decline in the habitat value of theriver. A tree management plan to keepthe trees in check and maintain variedhabitats benefits local bird, fish,mammal and invertebrate populations.

Newtown Upper Reach

Eastern Yar at Longbridge

Lukley Brook

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Bembridge Harbour

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The Island attracts national andinternational attention from the sailingfraternity. Specific events includeCowes Week, the International PowerBoat Race and the Round the IslandRace. Cowes located at the mouth ofthe Medina is home to the Royal YachtSquadron and other yacht clubs. Awide range of moorings, equipmentsupply and boatyards can be found atCowes, Bembridge harbour, WoottonCreek and the Medina estuary.

There are no navigable inlandwaterways on the Island.

Canoeing is also popular and there arefour main sites at Newtown Harbour,the River Yar, Yaverland and

Dunroamin. Yaverland and Dunroaminbeaches are also importantwindsurfing spots along with GurnardBay and the Esplanade at Sandown.Yaverland is also the Island’s mainwater skiing and sub aqua site.

The Island boasts 500 miles of walks -many along rivers and streams andthere are also plenty of opportunitiesfor cycling.

Fisher ies

It is a key aim of the EnvironmentAgency to ensure that all waters onthe Isle of Wight are capable ofsustaining healthy and thriving fishpopulations.

Potential for coarse fishing is limitedbecause of the small size of the Island’srivers. Carp, roach and dace are thepredominant species of coarse fish onthe Island. Rudd, perch, bream andtench are found in small numbers,while minor streams are characterisedby stoneloach, bullhead and eel. Otherspecies to be found includestickleback, gudgeon and brooklamprey. Roach and eel are the mostabundant species caught in the CaulBourne.

Under the EU Freshwater FisheriesDirective the Eastern Yar betweenHorringford and its mouth and theMedina between Chillerton andNewport are designated as CyprinidFisheries. This reinforces the water

quality standards to which the riversmust be protected.

The Eastern Yar and River Medina bothhave populations of small wild browntrout, characteristic of chalk streamheadwaters. Occasionally, there havebeen reports of sea trout in theMedina estuary, but these have notextended above Newport.

There are around 30 privately ownedstillwater lakes and ponds fished onthe island and the majority of thesesupport major coarse fish species.

Recreation

Surrounded by water andgeographically placed in one of thesunniest parts of Britain, the Isle ofWight is a Mecca for tourists -attracting 2.3 million visitors a year.It’s popularity as a seaside resort goesback to Victorian times when theIsland was given the royal seal ofapproval by Queen Victoria and PrinceAlbert.

Wootton Creek

Railway bridleway

1918

Flood defence

The Environment Agency has duties toprotect people and property fromflooding from rivers and the sea.

There are 114 km of main river on theIsle of Wight for which the Agency hasflood defence responsibility. Riversystems of the island are typically smallhill streams rising at the base of thechalk beneath the Downs. Periods ofhigh flow are short lived but peakflows are high.

In the past, the Island’s opencountryside allowed more rain to soakinto the ground slowing down runoffand allowing rivers to rise slowly.Conversion of pasture to arable landhas meant water now enters the rivermore rapidly through furrows.Additionally, river engineering andbuilding in the floodplains have allhelped to accelerate the rise in riverwater levels during heavy rain. TheAgency discourages development inthe floodplain and actively promotes

sustainable drainage systems whichslow down the passage of rain, fromthe land to the rivers.

The greatest part of the EnvironmentAgency’s major flood defence work onthe Island is on the tidal reaches of therivers.

Flood alleviation schemes in the pastwere carried out at the Schoolgreenarea of Freshwater on the Western Yar,a 4 km stretch of the River Medina,Lukely Brook between TowngateBridge and Westminster Mill, ShalfleetMill Stream, Thorley Brook and on theEastern Yar between St Helens andSouthford Mill.

Monktonmead Brook at Ryde has along history of flooding dating back100 years. In 2001 the Agencyannounced a £750,000 scheme tomore effectively release floodwaters tothe sea by extending the concreteoutfall and installing two new, highcapacity pumps to further relieve thepressure at very high tides

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Main picture: River Yar tidal banks

Sandown sea wall

Sandown sea wall

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River Maintenance

River maintenance plays an importantpart in reducing the risk of flooding. Aprogramme of annual maintenance iscarried out by the Agency’s Hampshireand Isle of Wight Direct Works Force.Removal of debris likely to blocksluices, culverts and weirs is vital. Alsoimportant is the clearance ofovergrown bankside vegetation anddredging works to maintain constantflows.

Careful checking and monitoring ofman-made flood defences is routinelycarried out

Preventing Pollution fromWaste

The Environment Agency works withothers to ensure that controlled waste– waste produced by offices,businesses, factories, schools andshops amongst others – is handled,transported, treated and disposed of assafely as possible.

Safe disposal of waste costs moneyand some people try to avoid thesecosts by dumping their waste illegally.This is known as fly tipping. It isunsightly, but more importantly it cancause significant health problems forrivers, wildlife and the surroundingenvironment. Anyone caught flytipping will be prosecuted by theAgency.

Putting waste into landfill sites cangenerate landfill gas – a greenhousegas – and liquid leachate, which, ifallowed to escape, can contaminatewater and harm humans and wildlife.

Lynnbottom Landfill took the majorityof the Island’s waste. When thatbecame full a new site was built atStanden Heath not far from thePalmer’s Brook. The Agency works withthe developers to ensure that the siteengineering and environmentalmonitoring safeguards thewatercourse.

There are a number of waste facilitieson the Island, some of them nearrivers and streams, all carefullymonitored by the Agency.

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Eastern Yar sluices

Amenity site

Landfill operations

New landfill cell and drainage

Photographs by John Chandler