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25 January, 2010

The East Anglian Waterways Association

The EAWA campaigns for the preservation, restoration and good management of all inland and tidal waterways in East Anglia.

The Broads are a key area together with the main rivers of East Anglia -The Great Ouse, Nene, Welland and the Witham.
And less known rivers are covered-from the Chelmer in the south, the Blythe in the east, the Ancholme in the north to the Ivel in the west together with the extensive Middle Level Navigations in the middle.

The EAWA is a believer in "Waterways for All" - promoting access to our navigations for the community-whether walkers, nature lovers, anglers, canoeists, boaters or gongoozlers. We work and support many local societies, trusts and other user bodies in the area.

The EAWA publishes a regular newsletter The Easterling- bringing together information on the waterways of our area. It also arranges work parties, offers advice and funding to local organizations.

 

The Past:

Amongst out notable successes, where we have worked hand-in-hand with other organizations, are:

  • the reopening of the Great River Ouse to Bedford;
  • the reopening of Well Creek;
  • the dredging of the Old West River in the mid 1960's;
  • the restoration of Welches Dam Lock;
  • the purchase, restoration and declaration of a public right of navigation for Dilham Dyke on the Broads;
  • lock lengthening on the Middle Level navigations.
  • and recently, donations to help the Sleaford Navigation Trust purchase part of their navigation and to the Peterborough IWA to help raise the Ramsey Hollow Bridge on the Forty Foot River

 

The Present:

Holding monthly work parties on the North Walsham and Dilham Canal, in co-operation with the owners and the Canal Trust, to help to prevent further deterioration of the navigation. For details of the next work party please call David Revill, (or checking on Work Party on this site.)

Working with partners, encouraging the first phase of the Fens Link from Boston through the South Forty Foot Drain.

Working with the Sleaford Trust towards reopening the Upper part of the Navigation within the town

Representatives on the Nene Waterway Task Group, Great Ouse Boating Association.

Giving advice to help the setting up of a River Gipping Trust.

Working with the Broads Authority and other bodies with an interest in the Broads.

Arranging the AGM to coincide with a trip or other activity on a local waterway.

 

The Future:

We are working towards:

  • The Consolidation of the new North Walsham and Dilham Canal Trust.

  • The reopening of the Little Ouse from Brandon to Thetford.

  • The Fens Link joining the Cathedral Cities of Lincoln, Peterborough and Ely

  • The Milton Keynes and Bedford Canal

  • The Nar Link-linking King's Lynn to the Inland Waterways Network.

  • As well as numerous smaller projects around the waterways of East Anglia-opening access to all.

Want to send an E-Mail message to the East Anglian Waterways Association?
Certainly - click here!

CLICKABLE MAP!
When you click the waterways, you go to the page with the waterways data!

(Or Go To East Anglian Waterways in table form, without the map!)

The Complete Anglian Waterways Navigation Guide Suite Has Arrived!

Paul Separovic, the Anglian Waterways Development Recreation Officer - Central Area (River Great Ouse) has recently announced that the completed Navigation Guides Suite is now finished and is available in hard paper format and electronic versions.
The complete suite consists of the following publications:

  • 'enjoying safer boating, Staying Safe on Anglian Waterways, Safety Guide'
  • 'boating the right way, Recreational Byelaws, Anglian Waterways'
  • 'The River Ancholme, a guide for river users'
  • 'The Rivers Welland and Glen, a guide for river users'
  • 'The River Nene, a guide for river users'
  • 'The River Great Ouse, a guide for river users'
  • 'The River Stour , a guide for users of the navigation'
Fens Waterways - There is a brochure request option on this page, otherwise please write to;

Waterways Team,
Environment Agency,
Kingfisher House,
Goldhay Way,
Orton Goldhay,
Peterborough,
PE2 5ZR.

Although available online - and useful for browsing or for a screen shot - the best print can only be obtained by sending for an original.
Ivan Cane

Our Lodes - e-Petition reply

17 July 2008

We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ensure that the Cambridgeshire Lodes don't get ditched!"

Details of Petition:
"Some 30 years ago, a successful campaign was waged to save The Cambridgeshire Lodes, ancient canals of probable Roman origin - principally Bottisham, Swaffham Bulbeck, Reach, Burwell and Wicken Lodes - which were threatened by the then authorities. A decision was made to maintain and to preserve The Lodes.
Such is the situation today: The Lodes have been maintained and preserved. But new documents indicate that The Environment Agency has commissioned a 'scoping report' costing some £200,000 and that it is looking critically at The Lodes, an option again being that of converting all or some of them into ditches.
The old campaign slogan - 'Don't Ditch Our Lodes!' - is just as relevant now as it was in the 1970s. A new factor is The National Trust's plans to buy up and partially to flood some 10,000 acres of rich fen land and the Trust says that 'lowering' some of The Lodes would be 'acceptable.' Lowering is much the same as ditching. The Swaffham Internal Drainage Board and Swaffham Prior Parish Council support The Lodes being maintained. But the Philistines could be triumphant if their opponents are inactive. So, this is a call to those with influence to use it!"

Read the Government's response

There is a long history of slips and leakage through the embankments that contain the Lodes. From time to time it has been necessary to make repairs to the embankments to prevent massive failure, which would result in flooding of the surrounding land.

Continued shrinkage and wastage of the fen peat could cause a worsening of this problem, particularly on Reach Lode as this is the highest and least stable of the Lodes embankments. Maintenance and rebuilding works could be needed indefinitely.

At the end of 2007, the Environment Agency published the Ely Ouse Lodes Strategic Environmental Assessment - Consultation Document. The Environment Agency's aim is to formulate an appropriate and sustainable approach to the future maintenance and operation of the Lodes on the basis of current land use, whilst taking into consideration potential land use changes over the next 100 years.

The consultation document gave everyone the chance to comment on the options for maintenance of the Lodes. The option preferred by the Environment Agency and most of those who responded to the consultation, is to maintain the Lodes at their present level and undertake repairs as and when required.

The final Ely Ouse Lodes Flood Risk Management Strategy Report was published in April 2008, along with a Strategic Environmental Assessment.
The report concluded that the preferred option is to continue maintaining the Lodes at the current level by carrying out repairs as and when required, unless a change in landuse causes a raised groundwater level. An increase in groundwater level may, depending on the degree of increase and height of the Lode, cause the risk of failure of the Lode banks to become unmanageable. In which case a further flood risk management option would be adopted, whereby the embankments would be strengthened to reduce the risk of having to carry out future repairs.

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        12 March 2008