Conservation & Environment

Over the last 10-15 years the Board have planted and maintained some 6.5 km of native hedging adjacent to their channels which have helped establish corridors between habitats as well as providing a safe haven and food source for many birds and insects.
A programme of erecting barn owl nest boxes has commenced with breeding successes already at a number of sites.
Careful management and timing of maintenance operations has also encouraged reed warblers and meadow pipits to successfully breed in many of the Board's drains, particularly those in the Deeping Fen area of intensive arable farming.

Some of the Board's drains already have National and International designations.
The 2.2 km upstream section of Counter Drain at Baston Fen was designated in July 2005 as a Special Area of Conservation.
This slow flowing drainage channel forms an important refuge for a diverse community of aquatic and emergent plants, invertebrates and the spined loach (Cobitis Taenia), a small nocturnal bottom feeding fish.

The Cross Drain, in Langtoft Common, is a 3.5 km length of watercourse originally dug into the peat and flowing over a gravelly sandy bed. The watercourse was designated a SSSI in November 1994 and is important for an exceptional beetle fauna, including 2 national rarities as well as a diverse aquatic flora.

Throughout much of the Board's area the water vole, a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species, is present and operatives are encouraged to monitor and report any sitings during the course of their work. Specific surveys and mitigation measures, if necessary, are employed when improvement works are undertaken.

The Board's Blue Gowt Outfall Drain is the main outlet for the Pinchbeck Marsh Pumping Station and conveys water from the station into the River Glen. A recent survey, following drain cleansing (desilting) operations, has re-recorded the presence of the ribbon leaved water plantain (Alisma Gramineum) after an absence of some 14 years.
This species is classified as critically endangered in the UK, is a BAP species and is naturally found at only one other site in Britain.

Biodiversity Action Plan

The Welland & Deepings IDB has conducted a biodiversity audit of its district and identified those habitats and species that would benefit from particular management or actions. Using this information, we have developed a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). The Plan identifies objectives for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity within the drainage district, and goes on to describe targets and actions that will hopefully deliver these objectives. The intention is to integrate, as appropriate, biodiversity into the Board's activities, such as annual maintenance programmes and capital works projects.

The action plan will help to safeguard the biodiversity of the drainage district now and for future generations. In particular, it is hoped that implementing the plan will contribute to the achievement of local and national targets for UK BAP priority species and habitats. Species and habitats which are not listed in the UK BAP but may be locally significant for a variety of reasons have also been considered.

The Welland & Deepings IDB Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) can be downloaded below:

Download: Biodiversity Action Plan (Adobe PDF - 3.39 MB)