River Tarrant Abstraction Report - published
The River Tarrant Preservation Society has published a new independent report examining the causes of low flows and frequent drying in the River Tarrant.
Prepared by John Lawson, a nationally recognised expert on chalk streams and abstraction impacts, the report presents detailed evidence that groundwater abstraction in the Tarrant, Stour and Pimperne catchments is having a severe and increasing impact on river flows. It shows that drying in the River Tarrant has become unnaturally frequent and prolonged, with serious consequences for wildlife – including Atlantic salmon, which are now endangered in England.
The report calls for a re-assessment of how flows in the River Tarrant and Pimperne Brook are classified, and makes practical recommendations for how abstraction could be realigned to protect the river without reducing public water supply.
