Western Weald - Water Quality

Water Quality

The western Weald is drained by the Western Rother and its tributaries, notably the River Lod, and by the River Kird and Loxwood Stream, all of which are tributaries of the River Arun. Water quality is above average for south eastern England, with chemical water quality variable but biological quality good to exceptional in all of the rivers, according to the Environment Agency. Silt from intensive arable farming on silty erosion prone soils on the greensand is a problem in the Western Rother. The Environment Agency is working with farmers to control run off from fields, by using reduced cultivations with less ploughing, having grass margins at the foot of slopes and moving gateways away from the foot of slopes. Flow rates, which are measured for the River Lod and Loxwood Stream, vary greatly with rainfall on the impermeable clay, with a tendency to flash flooding, and this has increased over the last thirty years.