Essex Rivers Hub

Description of Section

The river is featureless with eroded banks and becomes heavily shaded after the football pitches. The banks are dominated by Himalayan Balsam and at the time of the survey the plants had completely died back leaving bare banks that were vulnerable to erosion.

The area (land use)

The dominant land use for this stretch of river is pasture and recreational grassland.

Horses were the main livestock recorded.

Channel characteristics

The river channel consists of mainly unknown, and riffles are Array.

At the time of recording the flow of water was Array and the channel was Array wide and Array in depth.

For most of this stretch the channel profile is steep.

Bankside trees were Array, marginal plants and in-channel plants are Array. Woody debris was noted to be Array.

Engineering

The channel has been straightened and man-made enhancements are Array along this stretch of river.

Field drains were recorded as Array and barriers / culverts are Array.

Condition

Areas of trampling / poaching were Array and areas of erosion were Array at the time of the survey.

Additional Information

There is an open field area next to the bank which is fenced off and deep trenches have been dug the length of the field at approx. 20m intervals, these trenches lead to the river. This drainage may be having an impact on water quality.

Litter is present on banks and in-channel.

Water was brown in colour which could signify that the silt content was high but could have been affected by recent rain. The banks are reinforced near bridges.

Some blockages of woody debris in the channel has resulted in litter building up around it.

Wildlife

Mallards, Long-tailed Tits and Pied Wagtails were seen during the survey.