Straitgate has occupied a disproportionate amount of the Environment Agency's time over the years – right back from when it was put forward for the Minerals Plan in 2012. At that time, the EA warned:
The importance and value of this area may be under-represented by the appraisal undertaken so far. When our groundwater team map the Source Protection Zones (SPZs) for all of the private water supplies in this area I expect that [Straitgate] will be an important part of their catchment areas.
Our policy on the protection of water resources from changes to aquifer conditions (see general comments below) will govern our response to this and every other site. The number of private water supplies suggests to me that this would be a difficult site to take forward. Similarly, if this area is shown to be a significant part of the catchment for the water features near Cadhay, its deliverability as a viable site would seem unlikely.
Cadhay's water features? Here's a photo of one of the mediaeval fishponds, integral to the setting of the Grade I Tudor manor house:
Only last month, in relation to Cadhay, we posted that Aggregate Industries' legal assurances for alternative water supplies were – according to one lawyer – "unfit for purpose".
What does the EA mean when it talks about SPZs? Here's the SPZ that the EA put in place at Straitgate in 2013 – across the area that AI wants to quarry – in an effort to protect Cadhay's water supplies:
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| Environment Agency |
But it's not just Cadhay that has an SPZ. Many private water supplies rely on the groundwater at Straitgate for drinking water. As The Environment Agency’s approach to groundwater protection states, "all groundwater abstractions intended for human consumption or food production purposes have a default SPZ1".
For those unclear of the EA's responsibilities, the above document explains:
We are the Environment Agency. We protect and improve the environment and make it a better place for people and wildlife.
We operate at the place where environmental change has its greatest impact on people’s lives. We reduce the risks to people and properties from flooding; make sure there is enough water for people and wildlife; protect and improve air, land and water quality and apply the environmental standards within which industry can operate.
Acting to reduce climate change and helping people and wildlife adapt to its consequences are at the heart of all that we do.
We cannot do this alone. We work closely with a wide range of partners including government, business, local authorities, other agencies, civil society groups and the communities we serve.
The EA also tweets about "our precious groundwater resources". Here's a few relevant to Straitgate:
The ‘Water Cycle’ – Don’t forget that #Groundwater & #SurfaceWater are intrinsically linked & they both cannot exist without each other within the natural Water Cycle— Geoscience EnvAgency (@GeoscienceEA) February 18, 2019
Groundwater from our #aquifers provide essential #baseflows to our rivers enabling them to flow as watercourses pic.twitter.com/KsjR4xhWpz
The #watertable is a fundamental reference point used by #hydrogeologists representing the top of the saturated zone in our #aquifers & seasonally fluctuates with infiltrating rainfall. It tends to mimic shape of the ground surface being deeper under hills & shallow under valleys pic.twitter.com/nqeGBOkJj9— Geoscience EnvAgency (@GeoscienceEA) March 1, 2019
Ever dug down & come across a damp zone before digging deeper to find water? This is called the ‘capillary fringe’ & it sits above the #watertable Forms by capillary action as #groundwater seeps upwards. In fine grained rocks can be >10m & coarse sandstone no more than several cm pic.twitter.com/TIajGhIcUG— Geoscience EnvAgency (@GeoscienceEA) March 5, 2019
