Weir structures in the Kentish Stour have existed for as long as the river has been flowing. Many natural weirs are formed by erosion or a tree falling into the river, this is part of the natural dynamics of a river. Man made structures have had a much greater impact, with the advent of farming and later the agricultural revolution, rivers were dammed and controlled to harness their immense power for our own benefit. Evidence of this can still be seen today along the Stour in the form of water mills.

Weir construction at Godmersham

Weirs make a tremendously beneficial difference, both visually and physically, by breaking the water flow. By design they create a barrier to water flow and a change in the water levels. The riffles increase the oxygenation of the water, clean the gravel bed of silt which is essential for fish spawning, and create deeper pools for fish to hold up in. The weir helps control and direct the flow velocity and provides excellent habitat for crayfish, aquatic plants and other freshwater invertebrates.

There are already some well established stone weirs in the River Stour, for example at Little Chart, Godinton and Godmersham. These are working very well and plans are in motion to construct more weirs. The Environment Agency and the Kentish Stour Countryside Project are working in partnership with landowners to identify suitable sites.

Weirs need to be properly located otherwise they may do more harm than good, leading to flooding, erosion of banks, obstruction of the river and they can be unsightly. Large sections of the Stour are already excellent habitat and do not need to be interfered with. They are no good where the river is deep, which limits the useful range to the upper Stour.

The Kentish Stour Countryside Project has been directly involved in the construction of fish weirs and deflectors along the River Stour and more weirs are planned for this year. Following repair work carried out on stone weirs last summer, the nationally rare native white-clawed crayfish was found on eight out of ten of the weirs. This find was very encouraging news for all the hard work carried out by the volunteers.

White-clawed crayfish

Kentish Stour Countryside Project
Sidelands Farm, Wye, Ashford, Kent TN25 5DQ
01233 813307
kentishstour@kent.gov.uk