Waterways Day 2022
Waterways Day was organised to give local residents the opportunity to learn about the current status of our watercourses and to engage with the organisations that are responsible for their management. West Oxfordshire District residents had a chance to meet experts from local charities and community groups who are concerned about issues of river pollution and flood management and to voice their concerns and ask questions.
The event consisted of a series of talks along with a drop-in area with stands held by the participating organisations to allow residents to discuss the matters of their concern.
Thank you to the organisations and residents who attended Waterways Day on Friday 18 November 2022. It was great to see such interest in the environment and our local waterways from those who attended.
Cllr Lidia Arcizewska, Executive Member for Environment, shares her thoughts on the event in this video.
Where and when
Waterways Day was held at the West Oxfordshire District Council offices at Woodgreen, Witney on Friday 18 November 2022.
Who attended
The event was attended by the Council as well as the following organisations:
- Blenheim Estates
- Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
- Campaign to Protect Rural England (Oxfordshire)
- Evenlode Catchment Partnership/Wild Oxfordshire
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Riverside Gardens
- Thames Water
- WASP, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution
- Windrush Catchment Partnership
- Witney Flood Mitigation Group
- Wychwood Project
Talks and discussion sessions
Throughout the day, there were talks from these organisations to discuss their role in the prevention of pollution and flooding, the protection of wildlife and management of sewage around local waterways. These were followed by Q and A sessions to give the public an opportunity to ask further questions.
The talks took place as follows:
Time |
Speaker |
Organisation |
10.00 – 10.05 |
Introduction - Cllr Lidia Arciszewska |
West Oxfordshire District Council |
10:05 – 10:45 |
Richard Aylard |
Thames Water |
10:45 – 11:25 |
Ashley Smith and Prof Peter Hammond |
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) |
11:25 – 12:05 |
Eoghan Concannon |
Evenlode Catchment Partnership/Wild Oxfordshire |
12:05 – 12:45 |
Prof Richard Harding |
Campaign to Protect Rural England, Oxfordshire |
Break |
||
13:30 – 14:05 |
Nick Mottram |
Oxfordshire County Council |
14:05 – 14:40 |
William Wareing Kay Jerred and Margaret King |
Witney Flood Mitigation Group Presenting the story of Riverside Gardens |
14:40 – 15:15 |
Lisa Lane |
Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust |
15:15 – 15:50 |
David Green |
Blenheim Estates |
Selected presentations are available for download:
Stands
There was also an area in the marquee where attending organisations hosted stands so that residents could ask any questions.
These included:
- Blenheim Estates
- Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
- Campaign to Protect Rural England (Oxfordshire)
- Evenlode Catchment Partnership/Wild Oxfordshire
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Riverside Gardens
- Thames Water
- WASP, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution
- Windrush Catchment Partnership (TBC)
- Witney Flood Mitigation Group
- Wychwood Project
The Environment Agency (EA) were unable to attend.