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Information about watercourses

What is a Watercourse?

Main rivers

Main rivers are usually larger streams and rivers. However, they do include smaller watercourses of local significance. A main river is a watercourse marked as such on a main river map.

Ordinary watercourse

An ordinary watercourse is every river, stream, ditch, drain, cut, dyke, sluice, sewer (other than a public sewer) and passage through which water flows and which does not form part of a main river.

Some common problems affecting watercourses are: 

• Failing to keep vegetation growth under control.
• Failing to obtain consent for installing pipes or culverting of watercourses
• Disposal or storage of garden or domestic rubbish, waste etc. on the banks of or directly into a watercourse.

Useful Website:

Information about watercourses from the Environment Agency.

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