The Warwickshire Avon: A Case Study of Water Demands and Water Availability in an Intensively Used River System

The Warwickshire Avon is used as a case study to show the detailed investigations necessary to assess accurately the balance between the demands for, and the availability of, water in an intensively used river. The demands for river water and possible sources of conflict between them are identified. The flow of the river is analysed, particular attention being given to the problems arising from defects in the available records of flow. Water demands and water availability during periods of critical low flow are compared and the balance between them is shown to require consideration of water quality. The inadequacies of the available data on water quality are discussed, and graphs are presented showing the polluted state of much of the river. Effective measures for control of pollution are shown to require an understanding of both flow and quality characteristics throughout the river system and of the way in which these are affected by users en route. This will require far more sophisticated programmes for the collection of data on hydrology and water quality than those undertaken so far in the Avon basin.