Standing room only at launch of film on the river Ivel

The film was commissioned by the RevIvel Association, a campaigning group, and highlights the plight of the river Ivel which rises from springs in Baldock and is one of only 225 chalk streams in the world.

The short film tells the story of the river, from the days when flow was sufficient to support mills, trout fisheries and a thriving watercress industry, through to the present day where the springs and upper reaches of the river are dry for longer periods.

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Affinity Water pumps (abstracts) large quantites of water from the underground aquifer. A RevIvel-commissioned report by John Lawson, a specialist civil engineer, notes that the upper Ivel is among the most over-abstracted chalk streams in the country.

A dry section of the river Ivel in June 2022. (Image: K Mackenzie)

With John’s advice, the film explains how Affinity Water and Anglian Water have agreed to explore the proposed solution to restore flow to the river.

The aim - and RevIvel's hope - is for the volume of water taken from the aquifer to be substantially reduced to sustainable levels by 2030.

A circular, low-cost solution is being proposed using largely existing pipelines and facilities, and feasibility studies will start in 2023.