Country Profile

Tel : +44 02 7665 2234
Fax :+44 02 7799 1325
E-mail : icid@ice.org.uk, tim.fuller@ice.org.uk
Website : http://www.icid.org.uk

Dr. Ragab Ragab
Chairman
British National Committee of ICID (ICID.UK)
Principal Scientist Officer
NERC
Institute of Hydrology
Wallingford
Oxon, 0X10 8BB

Tel : +44 1491 838800
Fax : +44 1491 692424
E-mail : rag@ceh.ac.uk

Tel : +44 118 962 7452
Fax : +44 118 962 7452
E-mail : john.hennessy12@ntlworld.com

Mr. Peter S Lee
President Hon., ICID
(For address see sl. no. 1)

Tel : +44 1353 649417
E-mail : peterlee-icid@spamarrest.com

Tel : +44 118 9535303
Fax : +44 118 9511883
E-mail : peter.f.borrows@environment-agency.gov.uk

Member : ERWG; WG-CAFM

Member : WG-ON-FARM

Tel : +44 (0) 1491 682078
E-mail : fmchancellor@aquademos.com

Perm. Observer : AFRWG

Tel : +44 1943 602724
Fax : +44 1943 431520
E-mail : tom.franks@btinternet.com

Member : ST-LCB

Perm. Observer : WG-WATS

Chairman : MB, SC
Member : C-PR&P
Perm. Observer : WG-DRG, WG-TRUE, and WG-MIS

Tel : +44 1491 822439
Fax : +44 1491 826352
E-mail : g.pearce@hrwallingford.co.uk.

Member : WG-TRUE, ST-ARAL

Member : EB-JOUR

Chairman : WG-W&C; WG-PQW

Mr. Jonathan Simn
(For address see sr. no.1)

E-mail : j_simm@hrwallingford.co.uk

Vice Chairman : WG-SDTA

Mr. Charles A. Abernethy
(For address see sr.no.1)

E-mail : abernethy@itmin.net

Member : WG-HIST

Mr. Ian William Makin
Project Engineer
Water Resources
Asian Development Bank

E-mail : imakin@adb.org

Member : WG-TRUE

Dr. Bruce Lankford
Head of School/Sr. Lecturer/Consultant
School of Development Studies
University of East Anglia
Norwich, NR4 7TJ

Tel: (44) (0) 1603 593378
Fax: (44) (0) 1603 451999
E-mail : b.lankford@uea.ac.uk

Member : EB-JOUR

COUNTRY PROFILE - GREAT BRITAIN

1. Geography and Geology

The United Kingdom of Great Britain comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It lies on the western edge of Europe and is surrounded by sea. No part of the country is more than 120 km from tidal waters. The total area of the United Kingdom is 24.1 million ha. Great Britain can be divided roughly into two main areas - lowland Britain and highland Britain. In the former, the midlands, southern and eastern England lies the new and softer rocks. The hillier areas, in Scotland, most of Wales, the broad central uplands known as the Pennines, and the Lake District consist mainly of outcrops of very old rocks. Lowland Britain and most of Northern Ireland is less than 300 m above sea level. The younger rocks in this area break down more easily into soil; and so the greater part of lowland Britain comprises cultivated and settled areas, with varying textured soils from clay to sandy loam silt and peat. The soils on the hills are poor and thin, supporting coarse grasses, bracken, heather or trees.

2. Climate and Rainfall

The climate of Great Britain is temperate and equitable. The prevailing winds are south- westerly and the climate is largely determined by that of the eastern Atlantic, although during the winter months easterly winds may bring a cold, dry, continental type of weather. The average range of temperature between winter and summer varies from 7' to 12’C, being highest inland in the eastern part of England.

During a normal summer the temperature occasionally rises above 27’C; winter temperatures below -7’C are rare. Sunshine decreases from north to south. The average summer (April – September) potential evapotranspiration ranges from about 230mm in the Scottish highlands to 500 mm in East Anglia.

The average annual rainfall over Great Britain is about 1,080 mm, ranging from over 4,000 mm in a few points in the hills of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to 500 mm in parts of East Anglia.

3. Population and Land Use

The population of Great Britain is about 56 million, giving an average population density of about 230 inhabitants/sq.km with over 80% of the people living in towns.

For many centuries most of the land in Britain lay in estates ranging in size from a few hundred hectares upwards, comprising farms of varying sizes let out to tenants. Due to social change and heavy estate duties, farms were sold and many were bought by the tenants. About half the farms in Great Britain today are owner occupied. However, the trend nowadays is towards merging into larger units, particularly for arable farming.

Of the total area of Great Britain of 24 million ha, about 7 million ha is arable land, 11 million ha. is permanent grassland, 2 million ha is forested land and the remaining 4 million ha, is either built on or wasteland.

4. Water Resources and Irrigation

River water quality has improved over the last few decades as a result of improvements to effluent quality, particularly from sewage treatment works run by the private water companies under the guidance of the Environment Agency. The quality of most rivers is now adequate for use for irrigation and attention is now being given to the control of diffuse sources of pollution, particularly from the use of pesticides and fertilizers on fields. Control of such pollutants is essential to ensure that groundwater resources are not polluted.

All irrigation is carried out on an individual farm basis; there are no area or district schemes organised by public authorities. Some 90% of outside irrigation is spray. Trickle systems are used to a greater extent under glass and are becoming more popular for certain outside fruit crops where there is little cultivation and the pipes can remain in place for some years.

The quantity of water licensed for abstraction in England and Wales for spray irrigation in 1995 was 289 million m3 (approximately 45% direct from surface, 40% from groundwater and 15% from surface water via reservoirs). In addition to this some 3% of the total demand for irrigation was taken from the public mains. Spray irrigation in England and Wales is concentrated in East Anglia, parts of the Trent Valley in the Midlands and the Somerset levels, and in the Wye Valleys.

The area of crops irrigated in Scotland and Northern Ireland is very small and not included in the statistics.

Across England and Wales in an average year only 2% of the total water abstracted is used for spray irrigation and agriculture, compared to 51 % for public supply. However, in East Anglia, where spray irrigation is concentrated, the proportion is higher and on a warm summer day the amount taken for spray irrigation can exceed that taken directly from rivers and boreholes for public water supply.

Demand for irrigation is forecast to increase substantially, particularly if climate change leads to warmer and drier summers. Much of the demand is driven by supermarkets seeking good quality vegetables and fruit. Reliable irrigation will improve the appearance and yield of crops and reduce the need for chemicals. Vegetable production is now an international business with British farmers competing with European and other countries without the benefit of subsidies and supports provided to cereal producers.

5. Institutional Arrangements

England and Wales

The Environment Agency was set up by the British Government in 1997 to “protect and improve the environment for current and future generations”. Amongst other responsibilities it is the licensing authority for water abstraction and has powers to protect people and property in low lying areas from flooding.

The Agency has a statutory duty to secure the proper use of water resources, which includes;

• assessing the need for new developments and licenses;
• ensuring that the most appropriate schemes are licensed, taking into account the environmental impact of new developments and the impact on existing users.
  

The Agency owns and operates a few raw water transfer and environmental support schemes. The financing, promotion and development of new schemes will normally be the concern of the main beneficiaries. The initiative for developing schemes rests with the water companies or other private sector investors. The Government and Environment Agency do not give grants for irrigation schemes.

Farmers who wish to irrigate using spray equipment must have a licence from the Environment Agency. At present, trickle irrigation is not licensable, although the Government plans to introduce legislation to bring it under control.

In some areas the Agency is not issuing any further summer surface water or groundwater abstraction licences because the limited resources are already committed to other users and/or the ecological requirements of streams and wetlands. In these areas expansion of irrigation can only be by abstracting winter water flows for storage in a reservoir for use in the irrigation season.

Many of the most productive agricultural areas lie in flood plains. Major drainage systems, often managed by Internal Drainage Boards, support local field drainage. The Environment Agency is responsible for the “main” rivers and sea defences, and work with financial support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and local authorities to maintain defence standards. In recent years there has been greater emphasis on protecting urban areas from flooding and protection of agricultural land is a lower priority.

The Agency’s Shoreline Management Plans are an example of the strategic approach to sea defences it is taking. It is working with the natural geomorphological processes, including where appropriate adopting ‘managed retreat’ options.

Great Britain and ICID

Great Britain joined ICID in 1951, and has since been actively associated with ICID activities at national as well as international level. British National Committee hosted the 22nd IEC at London in 1971; 31st IEC at London in 1980; 48th IEC at Oxford in 1997. British National Committee is actively represented in 23 ICID workbodies. At present Dr. Ragab Ragab is the Chairman of WT-PQW and WG-CROP; and Mr. Peter S. Lee is the Chairman of Permanent Finance Committee of ICID. Mr. E.A. G. Johnson (1958-1961); Mr. P.A. Scott (1969-1972); Mr. W.R. Rangeley (1975-1978); Mr. John Hennessy (1986-1989); Mr. Peter S. Lee (1997-2000) were the Vice Presidents of ICID. Presently, Mr. Peter S. Lee is the President of ICID (2005-2008). Mr. W.R. Rangeley (1981-1984) and Mr. John Hennessy (1990-1993) were the Presidents of ICID. Ms. Felicity Chancellor is the Chairperson of ICID.UK and Mr. Tim Fuller is the Secretary of ICID.UK.