Title: River Stort fact file
Author: National Rivers Authority Thames Region
Document Type: Monograph
Abstract:
The perennial source of the River Stort is Stansted Springs to the west of Stansted Mountfitchet. The River Stort Catchment lies to the north-east of Greater London straddling the boundary between the counties of Hertfordshire and Essex. The river drains southwards into the River Thames via the River Lee and is the largest of the six main tributaries of the River Lee, covering an area of some 280 sq.km. The catchment includes over 180 km of designated main river, but the main drainage feature is the Stort Navigation which flows for 22.5 km from Bishop's Stortford to its confluence with the River Lee. The Navigation, which was built during the period 1766-1769, includes 15 locks along its length and a number of bifurcations, weirs and bypass channels. It is operated by
British Waterways (BW). The three main centres of population located within the Stort valley are Harlow, Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth. The catchment also includes Stansted Airport and is bisected north-south by the Mil motorway and the London to Cambridge railway. The remainder o f the catchment is much more rural in character, with the most significant land use being agriculture. There is also a sizeable area of relic ancient woodlands. The average annual rainfall in the River Stort catchment is 630mm.
Publisher: National Rivers Authority
Publication Date: [before 1996]
Publication Place: Reading
Subject Keywords: Rivers; Ecology; Water quality; River Quality Objectives; Effluents
Geographic Keywords: Stort (Hertfordshire); Hertfordshire; Upper Lee catchment
Extent: n.p. [4]
Permalink: http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:2983
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