Conditions in Cumbria – and England’s – wettest valley have entered a state of serious prolonged drought.
Borrowdale valley’s River Derwent has dried up almost completely for the third summer in a row and The National Trust alongside West Cumbria Rivers Trust have warned it could spell disaster for wildlife.
Ruth Mackay, fisheries project officer from West Cumbria Rivers Trust said: “We have images being sent in from around the valley of the rivers and tributaries bone dry.
“Already our nature is under stress. If a drought impacts a river, there is usually chance to recover in the succeeding years, but when it happens year after year, it becomes catastrophic for the wildlife that depend on it.”
Watercourses like the River Derwent often dry up when there is little rain fall due to being perched or modified from their natural course.
The organisations said that times of drought highlight the need to ensure watercourses are resilient to extreme weather conditions which are occurring more frequently as a result of climate change.
Returning rivers to a more natural state can help make them act less like drains and hold onto more water, which the organisations added also also has benefits in times of extreme rainfall, slowing the flow downstream.
The National Trust and West Cumbria River’s Trust have been undertaking award-winning river restoration work over the past few years as part of the Cumbria River Restoration strategy to help mitigate the effects of climate change in the Derwent catchment.
The National Trust’s Riverland project has also been delivering on several sites in the county.
Stonethwaite had embankments removed and flood plains restored to help keep water in the land and at Dunthwaite, ponds were created and black poplars, an important wetland species that has all but disappeared from Cumbria, were successfully introduced.
As part of the Great North Bog project, the third phase of the Armboth peat bog restoration will be starting this autumn to help the land hold more water, supply water to rivers in times of drought and continue to capture carbon.
Both organisations hope to continue working on these and new sites throughout Cumbria to help mitigate drought events like the one currently happening in Borrowdale.
Becky Powell from the National Trust said: “The Riverlands project has been working hard to deliver strategies which increase the resilience of our environment and communities to climate change.
“We have delivered projects across the Lake District, including in Ullswater where Goldrill Beck used to run dry, but is now still flowing despite the dry conditions. This not only helps the river and all the plants and wildlife which rely on it, but it also provides sustainable drinking water for livestock.
“Storing water in the landscape in this way not only makes it more resilient to drought and wildfire, but to flooding also.”
