Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Norfolk |
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Grid reference | TG 464 149 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 316.8 hectares (783 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1998 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Trinity Broads | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Trinity Broads is a 316.8-hectare (783-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. [1] [2] They are in The Broads Special Area of Conservation. [3] They are also part of the Broads National Park in Norfolk, England, comprising 5 broads in total. The three largest are Rollesby Broad, Ormesby Broad and Filby Broad, and there are two much smaller broads named Lily Broad and Ormesby Little Broad. [4] They are managed by the Broads Authority. [5]
The Trinity Broads are on a tributary of the River Bure, but there is no navigable link to the main river system, and they are therefore virtually undisturbed.
In 1995, most of the broads were bought by Essex and Suffolk Water, as a means of supplying water to Great Yarmouth. The quality of the water is good, and has been further protected by the construction of a sluice where Muck Fleet meets the River Bure. In order to meet their statutory requirements for conservation and recreation, ESW have formed a partnership with the Broads Authority, the Environment Agency and English Nature. A joint management plan has ensured that recreational use is maintained at a low level and the value of the broads as a wildlife habitat is retained. [6] The level of water in Muck Fleet is lower than that of the River Bure, and water from the channel is pumped into the river by Stokesby pumping station, which is maintained by the internal drainage board. [7]
A project to rectify poor water quality in Ormesby Broad began in 2010. Costing £120,000 over three years, the project involves pumping mud from the bottom of the lake. The mud is rich in nutrients, as a result of agricultural runoff, and removing it increases the capacity of the lake to store water, which is extracted as drinking water, as well as providing better habitat for reedbeds at the edges of the lake. Twelve lagoons were prepared to hold the mud until it dried, but initial archaeological investigation of the site for the lagoons revealed the presence of a Middle Bronze Age field system, the first such system found to the east of the Cambridgeshire Fens. The start of pumping was delayed while the site was investigated. Pumping began in March 2010, but was delayed again when live ammunition was sucked up in the mud, and became trapped in the pumps. [8]
By mid-May, pumping had to stop, due to the rapid growth of aquatic plants. It resumed in August, and by early 2011, around 20,000 cubic yards (15,000 m3) had been removed. [9] Once the mud had dried, the nutrients in it make it good for fertilising poor-quality soil, and it was ploughed in. When completed, around twice this volume of mud had been removed from the bottom of the broad. [8]
No motor boats are allowed onto the Trinity Broads, although rowing boats and dinghies are available for hire. Muck Fleet, which connects the broads to the River Bure, is too shallow even for such craft. [10]
Besides sailing, the broads are also very popular with anglers. Recently, new facilities for disabled people have been created, including a special platform for anglers in wheelchairs. Ormesby Little Broad is used for sailing model yachts, and the Norfolk Model Yacht Club have an arrangement with Essex and Suffolk Water, which allows them to use the broad for this purpose once a month. Like their larger counterparts, the use of petrol or oil engines is not permitted, and all remote control is therefore by electric motors. [11]
The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. Muck Fleet is designated as "heavily modified", which means that the channels have been altered by human activity, and the criteria for this designation are defined by the Water Framework Directive. [12]
The water quality for Muck Fleet, which includes most of the broads, was as follows in 2019.
Section | Ecological Status | Chemical Status | Length | Catchment | Channel |
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Muck Fleetf [13] | Moderate | Fail | 7.0 miles (11.3 km) | 18.81 square miles (48.7 km2) | heavily modified |
Reasons for the water quality being less than good include groundwater and surface water abstraction, physical modification of the channel, and runoff from agricultural and rural land. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) which had not previously been included in the assessment. [14]
The Broads is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, the whole area is frequently referred to as the Norfolk Broads.
The River Waveney is a river which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads. The earliest attestation of the name is from 1275, Wahenhe, from *wagen + ea, meaning the river by a quagmire.
Barton Broad is a large lake that forms part of the River Ant which gives its name to a 164-hectare (410-acre) nature reserve north-east of Norwich in Norfolk. The reserve is owned and managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Ant Broads and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve, and part of it is in the Ant Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is part of the Broadland Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation.
The Halvergate Marshes are an area of grazing marsh in the east of the English county of Norfolk. They form part of the area of The Broads and lie between the River Bure and the River Yare, bordering Breydon Water on the east. The marshes cover an area of around 2,642 hectares An area of 1,432.7-hectare (3,540-acre) is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Some areas are also in the Breydon Water Local Nature Reserve, the Broadland and Breydon Water Ramsar sites, The Broads Special Area of Conservation, and The Broads and Breydon Water Special Protection Areas.
The River Bure is a river in the county of Norfolk, England, most of it in the Broads. The Bure rises near Melton Constable, 11 miles (18 km) upstream of Aylsham, which was the original head of navigation. Nowadays, the head of navigation is 10 miles (16 km) downstream at Coltishall Bridge. After Aylsham Lock and Burgh Bridge, the Bure passes through Buxton Lammas, Coltishall, Belaugh, Wroxham, Horning, past St. Benet's Abbey, through Oby, Acle, Stokesby, along the northern border of the Halvergate Marshes, through Runham and Great Yarmouth where it meets Breydon Water and flows into the sea at Gorleston.
The River Ant is a tributary river of the River Bure in the county of Norfolk, England. It is 27 kilometres (17 mi) long, and has an overall drop of 27 metres from source to mouth. It is said that the Ant was formerly known as the River Smale and that this is the origin of the name of the village of Smallburgh.
The River Lark crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have been used for navigation since Roman times, and improvements to its navigability were made in 1638 and in the early 18th century, when locks and staunches were built. Special powers to improve the river from Mildenhall to Bury St Edmunds were granted by statute. The upper terminus was on the northern edge of Bury St Edmunds, but a new dock was opened near the railway station after the Eastern Union Railway opened its line in 1846.
The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk.
The River Stour is a major river in East Anglia, England. It is 47 miles (76 km) long and forms most of the county boundary between Suffolk to the north, and Essex to the south. It rises in eastern Cambridgeshire, passes to the east of Haverhill, through Cavendish, Sudbury, Bures, Nayland, Stratford St Mary and Dedham. It becomes tidal just before Manningtree in Essex and joins the North Sea at Harwich.
The River Huntspill is an artificial river, in the Somerset Levels, in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. It was built in 1940 to supply process water to ROF Bridgwater, and has resulted in reduced flooding of the lower Brue Valley. Huntspill Sluice at the river's western end, also known as West Huntspill Sluice, separates it from the River Parrett.
The River Rother flows for 35 miles (56 km) through the English counties of East Sussex and Kent. Its source is near Rotherfield in East Sussex, and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel. Prior to 1287, its mouth was further to the east at New Romney, but it changed its course after a great storm blocked its exit to the sea. It was known as the Limen until the sixteenth century. For the final 14 miles (23 km), the river bed is below the high tide level, and Scots Float Sluice is used to control levels. It prevents salt water entering the river system at high tides, and retains water in the river during the summer months to ensure the health of the surrounding marsh habitat. Below the sluice, the river is tidal for 3.7 miles (6.0 km).
The River Nar is a river in England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises at Mileham near Litcham in Norfolk and flows 15 miles west through Castle Acre and Narborough, joining the Ouse at King's Lynn. It has had a variety of alternative names, such as the Setch, the Sandringham, and Lynn Flu, though these are rarely, if ever, used today. In 2011 the Nar was recognised by the Environment Agency as one of the top ten most improved rivers in England and Wales.
The Lymington River drains part of the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England. Numerous headwaters to the west of Lyndhurst give rise to the river, including Highland Water, Bratley Water and Fletchers Water. From Brockenhurst the river runs southwards to the Solent at Lymington.
Anglian Water Services Limited is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment to the area formerly the responsibility of the Anglian Water Authority. The remaining functions of the authority were transferred to the Environment Agency. Anglian Water is regulated under the United Kingdom Water Industry Act 1991.
Filby Broad is one of five broads (lakes) in the Trinity Broads in Norfolk, England. It lies within the Broads National Park, adjacent to the village of Filby. The broad has an abundant selection of birds and wildlife.
The River Roach is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. It is one of four main streams that originate in the Rayleigh Hills to the west, and flow east. They then flow towards the centre of the Rochford Basin, a circular feature which may have been caused by an asteroid impact in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene periods. To the east of Rochford, the river becomes tidal, and is governed by the Crouch Harbour Authority. It joins the River Crouch between Wallasea Island and Foulness Island. To the west of Rochford, there is some doubt as to which of the four streams is officially the Roach.
The River Tillingham flows through the English county of East Sussex. It meets the River Brede and the eastern River Rother near the town of Rye. A navigable sluice controlled the entrance to the river between 1786 and 1928, when it was replaced by a vertical lifting gate which was not navigable. The river provided water power to operate the bellows of an iron works at Beckley Furnace, used to make cannons for the Royal Navy between 1578 and 1770, when it became uneconomic, and a water mill which replaced it, until that burnt down in 1909. The lower reaches supported a thriving shipbuilding industry from the early nineteenth century onwards, and although on a smaller scale, was still doing so in 2000.
Essex and Suffolk Water is a water supply company in the United Kingdom. It operates in two geographically distinct areas, one serving parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the other serving parts of Essex and Greater London. The total population served is 1.8 million. Essex and Suffolk is a 'water only' supplier, with sewerage services provided by Anglian Water and Thames Water within its areas of supply. It is part of the Northumbrian Water Group.
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The Cut-off Channel is a man-made waterway which runs along the eastern edge of the Fens in Norfolk and Suffolk, England. It was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s as part of flood defence measures, and carries the headwaters of the River Wissey, River Lark and River Little Ouse in times of flood, delivering them to Denver Sluice on the River Great Ouse. In the summer months, it is also used as part of a water supply scheme for drinking water in Essex.