Our chalk river, the Stour, is struggling. One of the issues, affecting many UK rivers, is obstructions. Weirs and dams are not a natural feature of rivers. Some served a purpose historically such as Mill weirs but they are no longer needed. Some are just there to make a pretty place for people.

These barriers stop fish and other river species moving up and down the river. This means they struggle to find the right places to breed, feed, hide and keep cool because they are left in smaller areas with less habitat and cannot escape if they have to. This means less biodiversity.

KSCP were recently funded by the Environment Agency to do some works in Canterbury in the Stour. A small weir, by Kingsmead Field still impacted fish movements. We have added a central gap which will help. We also created a channel in a concrete barrier by Barton Mill, in the hope that this will add more fresh water to the small channel running between the 2 arms of the Stour. When water is very shallow, full of plants and does not flow, it becomes very warm and the oxygen is lost, which can kill fish and other water species.