Assessing the Status of Drainage in the UK: A Case Study of the Avon, Eden and Wensum DTCs and their representativeness with regional and national patterns

Abstract

Application of historical field drainage statistics to assess the extent of drainage within the DEFRA Demonstration Test Catchments (DTCs) and to put them into a broader national and regional context. The parish drainage data for 1971-80 indicate that the DTCs do not encompass any of the known drainage ‘hotspots’, although the Wensum has a drainage profile that almost matches the national average. The Avon had little drainage due to its high permeability chalk geology and the Eden has a mostly grassland economy