The Ackerbourne is lower this September than long-time residents can remember, and the growers who depend on it are already changing how they work. The gauge below Miller’s Weir has sat well under its seasonal average for eleven straight weeks.

For the watercress beds at the valley’s southern end, the shortfall is more than an inconvenience. The beds need a steady flow of clean, cool water, and several growers have reduced the area they are cropping rather than risk the whole harvest.

How growers are adapting

Smallholders up and down the valley told the Post they are trying a mix of old habits and new ones:

• Watering at dusk to cut evaporation losses
• Mulching heavily to hold moisture in the beds
• Sharing rain butts and storage between neighbouring plots
• Switching late plantings to hardier, less thirsty varieties

The concern is not this season alone. Two consecutive dry summers have growers questioning whether the valley’s traditional crops can be relied upon without more storage.

There is cautious optimism that autumn rains will restore the river before winter. But the mood among those who make their living from the Ackerbourne is that the town cannot keep treating a low river as a one-off.

Related: Town Hall reporting · rowing on the home water

Further reading: Understanding drought

Written by

The Wrenfield Post