Lound
Introduction
Essex & Suffolk Water own an area of approximately 80 hectares comprising of open water, grassland and woodland at Lound, near Lowestoft spanning the border between Norfolk and Suffolk. Our reservoirs at this site supply potable water to the towns of Lowestoft, Belton and Hopton and surrounding villages from an arable catchment area of 27 km2.
The site is of high ecological value with great species diversity of both flora and fauna. It is a designated County Wildlife Site, but is just outside the executive area of the Broads National Park, and is accessible to the public via a network of public footpaths.
Site management
The Lound Catchment Project is a joint venture between Essex & Suffolk Water and the Broads Authority. The water company funds a full-time Catchment Officer to manage the site and to work in conjunction with other local stakeholders to encourage environmentally sensitive land management throughout the catchment.
The Lound Catchment Project was initiated in October 2004 with the following core aims:
• To understand the factors affecting water quality in the Lound Lakes. Once these factors are identified, site management should address these issues to improve the water quality.
• To manage the landholding of Essex & Suffolk Water, which surrounds the lakes, to improve water quality and support nature conservation.
• To build closer working relationships with farmers in the surrounding catchment, and to motivate them to improve/changes their farming methods to reduce nutrient leaching through the soil into the water system.
• To develop appropriate schemes on the Essex & Suffolk Water landholding for the purposes of public access, education and recreation to benefit the local community.
| Newsletter | |
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| Lound newsletter - Spring 2008 |
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Conservation
The Lound site has been extensively surveyed; a number of key species have been identified for conservation including pillwort, orchids, butterflies, dragonflies and otters.
The majority of the grassland is managed through a Countryside Stewardship Scheme which means funding is available to manage the site sensitively in the interest of plants and wildlife.
Nutrient levels
The Lound Lakes are subject to elevated nutrient levels, mainly due to artificial fertiliser leaching through the soil from the surrounding farmland, and human and animal organic waste. Nitrate levels in the lakes have increased rapidly since 1998 and are predicted to rise further in the future.
Essex & Suffolk Water has to meet strict drinking water quality standards so monitoring of the lakes has been undertaken over many years to track trends in the fluctuation of nutrient levels. The ESW Water Resources department has carried out the data analysis; this work was a significant driver behind the establishment of the Lound Catchment Project.