Water |
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Clean drinking water for Brighton and Hove is held in a remarkable layer of rock beneath our feet called an aquifer, a key reason why the Council brought our downland into public ownership Sadly, our aquifers are the most polluted across the whole of the South Downs through nitrates leaching from fertilizers. The climate crisis too increases the vulnerablility of the aquifer. We support The Aquifer Partnership's work to reduce nitrates in groundwater and further advocate detailed mapping the underground water systems, the formalising of nitrate use levels and restorative farming practices into downland policy. |
NewsCheck out Wild Park rainscape designed to naturally filter polluted water that runs from the surface of busy roads in the North East of Brighton, to enable clean water to safely pass through the earth into the region’s ground water aquifer.
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BackgroundThe chalk hills act as a sponge, rapidly absorbing and filtering rainwater, making our spring water the purest there is. There are no surface rivers between the River Adur in the west and the River Ouse in the east, apart from a few chalk streams at the edges chalk outcrop, but there are numerous underground rivers, streams, watercourses, culverts, adits, sewers and storm drains hidden beneath our feet. The exact locations of so many of these are currently unknown. Our aquifers are the most polluted across the whole of the South Downs, mostly by nitrates from fertilizers leaching into groundwater. Seven out of thirteen boreholes have nitrate-levels that exceed drinking water standards. To ensure that the water supply has low enough contamination, Southern Water mix various sources and spends tens of millions of pounds over the last two decades on nitrate and phosphate stripping plants to make it fit for us to drink. This highlights the urgent need for restorative farming practices to become the norm on the Downland Estate and a central objective of the Whole Estate Plan. With the lack of awareness of groundwater protection, we need a comprehensive, holistic approach to the particular challenges posed by contamination of our water supplies. For this to happen we need a thorough mapping exercise to pool information to determine what lies beneath. First, there needs to be an audit of our existing pipework. Adits are horizontal tunnels designed to carry water. We require an adit audit - to discover and map the locations of the 12km of adits linking water pumping stations across Brighton. Then, a multidisciplinary approach to look at the Hydrology, Geology, Archaeology, Mycology and Ecology of our area will enable us to work with nature to serve our aquifer. There are signs of hope for the protection of our aquifer with excellent projects like The Aquifer Partnership (TAP). However, projects like these need funds now to implement the essential remedial works identified. Tackling polluted water must be a high priority in order to ensure our fresh water is clean for generations to come. Actions
The actions below are essential to achieve Brighton and Hove City Council pledges on the climate, ecological and health emergencies, without which Brighton and Hove City Council will fail in its duty to current and future citizens. Protecting the city’s water supply must remain a key feature in Downland policy, crucially as climate change increases the vulnerability of the aquifer. The aims should be:
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