The water levels in the River Kennet and River Dun around Hungerford are about as high as our River Keeper, Rob Knight-Starr, has ever seen them. The water meadows, including Freeman’s Marsh, are doing what they should be doing:  holding river water as part of the flood plain for the River Dun, Shalbourne Brook and the numerous springs that feed them, allowing water to flow across the land away from the river channels and soak in slowly. As long as these flood waters subside, it will be good for the plants and animals of this Site of Special Scientific Interest. Stay safe near these areas, as some of the floods are deep and fast flowing with a thick layer of mud under the water.

 

Elsewhere on the Town and Manor estate at Undy’s Meadow, where the ancient channel of the River Kennet was reconnected to its floodplain,  this historic restoration has led to huge amounts of river water spreading across the water meadow so mitigating flooding further down the river towards Newbury, Thatcham and beyond. 

 

Allowing rivers to flood properly across their floodplains allows fast flowing flood water to become ‘slow water’, taking much longer to move downstream and having the chance to filter deep into the ground to the bedrock below. The Rivers Trust UK talks a lot about ‘slow water’ and how we desperately need to rethink how we manage our rivers and their drainage basins to help mitigate the effects of climate change.’