Aquifer

Affinity Water is licensed by the Environment Agency to abstract tens of millions of litres of water per day from the Ver aquifer by pumping from deep underground using several pumping stations along the length of the Valley.  However in April 2016 Affinity Water took the pumping station at Bow Bridge off line, consequently reducing abstraction by about 6 Ml/day.  Further reductions are planned by 2025.

Following the Buncefield Oil Depot disaster in December 2005  the Bow Bridge Pumping Station was not used for nearly three years due to fears of possible contamination of the water table  from the firefighting chemicals following the incident.  This certainly helped maintain the flow in the Ver in the next few summers.  Friars Wash Pumping Station has been on stand-by status since 1992 (as a result of pressure by Ver Valley Society) but has been used in some dry summers.

In general the aquifer is only recharged in the winter months as in summer rainfall is used up by vegetation growth and evaporation in the warmer months. Following prolonged dry weather the aquifer continued to fall so that in April 2012 was 7.82 below average which was followed by summer floods!  By the end of 2012 was just above average once again having risen by about 9 metres in the year.  In early 2013 the aquifer was the highest it had been for at least 10 years. 

Subsequently the aquifer again fell well below average due to the dry winter of 2014/15 followed by a dry, warm spring, summer and autumn.  Both winters of 2017/18 were drier than average with a very hot dry summer in 2018 so by April 2019 the aquifer was exceptionally low at 7.78 below average, i.e almost as low as 2012. However again the extreme low was followed by much rain through the autumn and winter of 2019/20. Summer and autumn of 2020 had more rain than usual and winter of 2020/21 was very wet floods. By early the aquifer was 7.18 metres above average which is near the 20 year record high. This may well be exceeded in the next couple of months due to the 2 or 3 month time lag before rainfall is reflected in the aquifer.

As a general measure of the aquifer situation Ver Valley Society uses groundwater figures measured by Environment Agency at Ballingdon Farm in the upper part of the valley.  Recent figures in metres are given below.

The 2022 average figures have been revised from previous years mainly reflecting the higher levels in the early months of recent years.

Contains Environment Agency information – ©Environment Agency