Campaigners working to improve the health of the river Lea and its tributaries have reported on the progress of their work on creating Sustainable Drainage Systems in Enfield borough.
The projects are being organised by Love the Lea, the local arm of the charity Thames 21.
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS for short) involve measure to slow down the flow of water, particularly during rainy weather, so that high levels of pollutants are not washed into streams and eventually into the Lea and Thames.
Major sources of this pollution include run-off of chemicals and oil from roads and sewers which overflow in wet weather. An effective way of reducing the pollutants in water is for it to be filtered through reed beds and slowed down by dense vegetation.
You may be aware of the work that has been going on in the wooded part of Grovelands Park, where a previously culverted part of the stream has been brought back to the surface. As well as slowing down and filtering the water, the result is aesthetically pleasing.
The update is below. Houndsden Spinney is in the northern part of Winchmore Hill and the Glenbrook is near Worlds End Lane. The Houndsden Ditch and Glenbrook both flow into the Salmons Brook, a tributary of the Lea.
Welcome to this special SuDS edition of Love the Lea e-news.
SuDS are a great way of managing drainage; to filter out nasty pollutants and provide some attenuation of rain water during periods of heavy rainfall using natural processes.
Here's what's happening with our SuDS in Enfield and Haringey.
This Spring we will be creating a reed bed in Grovelands Park lake. The new reed bed will help tackle pollution which currently enters the lake from road run-off and plumbing misconnections in the local area. We will also be improving access to the SuDS in the park, so that more people can experience and enjoy these water treatment systems inspired by nature.
The first phase of the Houndsden Spinney SuDS scheme is now complete. Volunteers braved the winds and rain to help plant hundreds of sedges in the new SuDS which leads along the verge and into a woodland glade. The new SuDS will treat road run off, containing oils and heavy metals, before they are allowed to enter Houndsden Stream.
A spring planting event is planned for the Glenbrook SuDS on Wednesday 22nd April (see details below). At the end of last summer local volunteers did a fantastic job of planting up the new SuDS, but the system has had to deal with difficult autumn weather and extreme levels of pollution entering the Glenbrook. This Spring we want to give the SuDS a helping hand to become better established with pollution fighting vegetation! We will be using some alternative planting techniques to give the plants greater resilience and more diversity.
Our first rain planter is finished! These rain planters take rain water off roofs, reducing the sewage system overflowing into rivers. To start we're offering these free to schools and community groups in Enfield as part of the Salmons Brook Healthy River Challenge, and later plan to roll these out across the catchment.
If you would like more information about our SuDS projects in Enfield pleaseget in touch with Elena Von Benzon
Events - What's happening this month and things you can get involved in
Love the Lea requires plenty of volunteers for its projects and holds regular events where people can help, but also learn about their work and be entertained.
- 11th April Salmons Brook Pollution Monitoring
- 11th April CANCELLED Citizen Science at Waterworks Nature Reserve
- 14th April Eel Monitoring Training
- 22nd April Glenbrook SuDS Spring Planting Day
- 22nd April Surface Tension - Rob St John in conversation
- 25th April Boyton Road Planting Day
- 3rd May Riverfest with Love the Lea, Tottenham Ploughman and Lordship Hub
- 7th May Eel Monitoring Training
- 23rd August Love the Lea Festival - watch this space for more details
