The River Witham rises near South Witham and flows northwards through Grantham, passing through Lincoln before reaching the sea just past Boston. Over recent centuries, and particularly through the 1900s, the once naturally meandering river channel of the Witham has been straightened, deepened, widened, impounded and embanked as part of fluvial engineering schemes, designed to reduce flood risk and improve land drainage. These modifications, together with catchment land management practices, have contributed to a decline in the quality of river habitat and wildlife in the catchment.
River habitat improvement projects in a partnership between SKDC, the Environment Agency and Lincolnshire Rivers Trust have been undertaken. A variety of different techniques have been used, including channel narrowing with the creation of berms, hinged trees and fish ladders on previously impassable weirs.
Work to improve the flow of the River Witham includes the creation of a combination of berms & meanders with deeper channels of fast flowing water, as well as low flow channels which maintain areas of clean gravel and stones.
The River Witham flows from the Belton Lane end of the park, south towards the Harrowby Mill.
For urgent environmental incidents please call the Environment Agency's incident hotline 0800 80 70 60.
Witham/ Slea Blue Green Corridor project
More recently, Queen Elizabeth Park has undergone significant improvement works following the final phase of the Witham/ Slea Blue Green Corridor project.
The project aimed to restore and improve the ecology of the River Witham , surrounding riverbanks and nearby green-spaces. Three ephemeral ponds have been dug – these are fed by ground water, and have a variable depth. The central portion of each pond should remain wet all year round but the edges will dry out in warmer weather. They have been planted with species suitable for each section of the ponds – depending on how much water the plant roots like.
See Pond Creation page for photos of the creation of these new habitats and development photos
The River Witham is kept litter free by Grantham RiverCare