Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of the rivers Beane and Mimram; and if she will make a statement.

The Rivers Beane and Mimram suffer from low flows and poor water quality due to urban drainage and rural run-off.

The Environment Agency has been working with Affinity Water with the result that by 2018, abstraction from the River Mimram at Fulling Mill Pumping Station will stop, and abstraction from the River Beane at Whitehall Pumping Station will be cut by 90%.

The Environment Agency is also working with Thames Water to rectify misconnected drains that affect the River Beane and to improve maintenance on its tributary, the Stevenage Brook. The Environment Agency is also working with landowners on the River Mimram to resolve bank erosion and reduce field run-off.

Actions being taken should substantially improve the quality and habitats of these valuable chalk streams.