Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the Tame itself, the River Rea through Birmingham which drained the indus-
trial urban areas and streams such as the Hockley Brook which received highly
toxic wastes from metal and metal treatment industries (Hawkes
1956
). The
River Blythe, running through Warwickshire, in contrast, drains a mainly rural
area and has contained a diverse flora and fauna throughout its known history.
The Blythe is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and contains a high diver-
sity of plants, fish and macroinvertebrates (Box & Walker
1994
). Rivers such
as the Anker, the Cole and the Sence are intermediate with histories of both
good and poor water quality, depending upon the reach and the period (Hawkes
1956
; Skerry & Green
1986
; Martin
1993
,
1997
; Farrimond & Martin
1996
).
In the Black Country coal measures, the Tame originates as two main
streams, the Oldbury arm and the Wolverhampton arm which join at Bescot
near Walsall. The Oldbury arm also comprises a number of very small streams,
for example, Tipton Brook, Lea Brook and Hobnail Brook. Feeder streams for
the Wolverhampton arm include Darlaston Brook, Ford Brook and Waddens
Brook. All of these were also polluted to their sources over many years.
Gradients are generally low, and though there were 70 mill sites operating in
the thirteenth century, water was often scarce and flows poor (Dilworth
1976
).
This lack of water for powering forge hammers delayed the development of
the metal industries in the Black Country until the advent of steam power
removed the necessity for water-driven mills. The soils of the Black Country are
essentially acidic with low phosphates, and historically, liming was necessary
to make them agriculturally productive. The soils of the Blythe and Cole are
more alkaline and productive without liming (Twyman
1950
).
The landscape and vegetation of the upper Tame valley in the first century
AD comprised marsh, heathland and dense woodland. The Domesday Book
records a thinly spread, poor human population in the eleventh century, in
contrast with the denser populations of the areas of richer soils, for example,
in the Blythe catchment. On the coal-measures, mainly in South Staffordshire,
population densities were about 1.9 2 individuals per square mile compared
with 9 13 individuals per square mile on the richer lands (Kinvig
1950
).
The low number of watermills also indicated impoverished lands in South
Staffordshire compared with Warwickshire. The changes caused by the dis-
covery of large coal seams, ironstone and clay were dramatic. Wise (
1950
) notes
that 'this originally impoverished and underpopulated area became the indus-
trial heart of England and the scene of the first large-scale industrial revolution
in the world'. By the end of the nineteenth century, the middle and upper
Tame catchment included some of the most densely populated and industria-
lised regions in the world with a landscape comprising spoil heaps, mines,
mills, houses, furnaces, forges and factories. The area was typically covered by
the pall of smoke which eventually gave it its name. Lester (
1975
) noted that in
the 1970s, the Tame catchment from Lea Marston upwards was 47% urbanised
