A long-term decline in rainfall and increasing extraction of water is threatening the River Windrush.

Members of the Save the Windrush River Campaign feare the days of the river are numbered following several dry summers and a steady increase in the amount of water taken out by Thames Water to supply Witney.

More than 100 people attended a public meeting in Witney's Corn Exchange to hear the finding of a report on the river by consultants W.S. Atkins.

The report was commissioned by the Environment Agency last year after pressure from conservationists. The results show that there has been measurable change in the Windrush Valley since the 1960s. Agriculture and land drainage practices have changed, abstraction has increased and gravel has been extracted.

The findings also suggest that rainfall has decreased since 1950.

Dr Richard Knowles, of the Save the Windrush Campaign, said: "We welcome the report. The central finding of a significant reduction in flows over the past half-century and especially a decline in low summer flows accords with our own observations. "We now urge the Environment Agency to undertake a full review of all licensed abstractions and effluent discharges in the Cotswolds.

"Reduced rainfall and consequently reduced river flows mean that many licensed abstractions and effluent discharges are evidently no longer appropriate if our rivers are to be protected."

Environment Agency project manager Geoff Bell said: "The agency is determined to work together with the local community to create a management plan to protect and enhance the Windrush in the face of these changes."

Story date: Monday 08 November

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