Saving Herts' 'Rainforest'

A global rarity, Herts’ chalk streams are threatened by increasingly dry seasons and housing development. Our water demands could be deadly

- Liz Hamilton

Towards the end of last year I took a walk along the river Gade near Water End. Recent heavy snow had turned the countryside white, while the flowing river sparkled in the winter sunshine. From the footbridge I realised that the water was very shallow, barely enough for a game of Poohsticks, which we used to enjoy here when my children were younger. I heard a kingfisher’s call – a rapid song reminiscent in tone of a squeaky toy – and soon spotted it perched on a twig overhanging the water, its bright turquoise back distinct against the snow. It seemed not to notice me, sometimes diving into the water and returning to its perch with a fish in its long bill, sometimes flying, low and straight, over the water to another perch.

A chalk stream sparkling in the sun, perhaps with a sighting of its resident kingfisher, is a classic Hertfordshire scene. Rivers like the Gade, Ver, Mimram and Beane are fed by springs arising from water (the aquifer) in the underlying chalk. They shaped much of the county’s landscape and the mills they once supported were essential to the local economy. There are 161 chalk streams in England, 85 per cent of the world’s total, renowned for the rich variety of wildlife they support, including rare and declining species like water vole and brown trout.