Revitalising the River Ver Project

We are working together to improve both the River Ver and the lakes.

We want a natural environment that St Albans can be proud of. 

Our plans work with nature to reintroduce natural processes in the river and lakes. We will return the river to a more natural course and introduce natural meanders and habitats on the banks of the river which will result in clean gravel bed. 

Meanwhile, we want to transform the lakes into a wildlife haven with native plants surrounding the lakes and new wetland areas providing a home for diverse wildlife. 

This project is a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve the River Ver for generations to come. You can find out more about the project plans in the links below
 

• River Ver Restoration St Albans feasibility study ( pdf - 77.13 MB )

To date

Forward plan

The project team are currently working on Phase 1 of the project which will see improvement work carried out to the River and Lakes in Verulamium Park and the River between Holywell Hill up to Cottonmill Lane Allotment Site.  It is anticipated that work will start in 2020.

• Phase 1 – Verulamium Park and Holywell Hill ( pdf - 1.45 MB )

Phase 2 of the project will see improvement work carried out to the River Ver between Cottonmill Lane Allotment Site and just past the Alban Way.  

• Phase 2 – Cottonmill Lane Allotments to Sopwell Mill ( pdf - 1.07 MB )

To help boost the health of the river, Groundwork is working with schools and youth groups in St Albans to train their pupils as Junior River Wardens (JRW). As JRWs, children will learn how to undertake river monitoring, looking for a variety of geographical changes, conducting chemical tests, and spotting wildlife. They will learn how the measurements they take impact the river, what the changes in measurements tells us about the river, and what they can do to help the readings improve. Monitoring is taking place this autumn with repeat visits in spring 2020.

The schools involved are:

• Maple Primary
• Fleetville Junior School
• Aboyne Lodge School
• St. Peter’s Primary School
• 4th St. Albans Scout group

If you are a teacher, parent or student in St Albans and would like your school to get involved, please get in touch

Junior River Wardens website

This project is part of Revitalising Chalk Rivers. Together, the Environment Agency, Affinity Water and other local partners are working to protect and restore our local chalk rivers. Numerous river restoration projects have been completed or planned.  Alongside these projects we are reducing abstraction (pumping or removing water from the groundwater or a river) to improve flows in the river.

You can find out more about Revitalising Chalk Rivers here.

The River Ver is in the River Colne Catchment Area. You can find out more about how our partners are working together to protect and improve the water environment for everyone by visiting the Colne Catchment Partnership website here.

Using water efficiently will help ensure we all have enough water for our homes, to produce food, for products and services, and to protect our valuable natural environment. Abstraction of water can have a direct impact on chalk streams, and a large portion of water abstracted is used to meet the demand of the local population. In fact, Hertfordshire has some of the highest rates of water use per person in the country. Therefore, reducing your water use could directly benefit the chalk streams. 

Many people are not aware that actions like tipping waste liquids down roadside drains, flushing wet wipes or washing up greasy pans in the sink directly harms wildlife and affects water quality by causing pollution in local rivers, lakes and the sea.

Here are ten simple tips you can follow to help reduce your personal water usage:

Ten Top Tips for Saving Water

1. Remember to turn off the tap while brushing your teeth – a running tap wastes approximately 6 litres of water per minute
2. Take shallower baths. Running your bath just an inch shorter than usual can save on average 5 litres of water
3. When you’re finished in the bath, reuse your bathwater to water your houseplants or garden
4. Switch to a low-flow shower head. This will reduce your water consumption but still give you the feel of a normal shower
5. Use a shower timer to help reduce shower time. If everyone used a shower timer we would save enough water to supply 1 million homes every day
6. When washing up, use a plug or washing up bowl to limit the amount of water used rather than continuously running the tap.
7. Make sure the dishwasher is only run when it has a full load
8. Fill the kettle with only what is needed, this saves electricity too!
9. Use a watering can instead of a hosepipe when watering your garden
10. Install a water butt in your garden. You can use the collected water to water your garden or wash the car

Revitalising the River Ver Working Group