A 3km stretch of the River Lathkill regularly dries up in the summer as lower rainfall leads to the river flow disappearing through the limestone into nineteenth century mines running under the riverbed.
Last year was the driest in Midlands for over 90 years. The region has experienced two drier than average winters and this has caused the river to dry up much earlier than it usually would, necessitating the fish rescue, and transfer downstream to an area with constant flow, some four months earlier than anticipated.
Alex Lumsdon, Technical Officer for the Environment Agency said:
“Generally this length of the river dries up between June and August and the water returns in October, but last year the flow didn’t return until mid December. Due to the river remaining dry until very late on last year, it appears that the brown trout have not migrated back upstream to spawn in the upper reaches of the River Lathkill as they usually would.
We are concerned that the continuing dry weather may affect more wildlife, including fish and plant life in and around rivers and lakes. This is due to the reduced river flows and lower water levels in lakes and ponds. We are monitoring the situation closely and, like today, will act quickly to alleviate such problems if they occur.”
