About the beck.
The beck starts on the hills above Cringles, being one of a number of watercourses feeding the reservoir. The flow in the beck is very much controlled by the compensation flow from the reservoir. Below the reservoir the beck runs in a beautiful wooded hillside cleft before it enters the town. Then it follows the alongside the road through the town, forming the much loved Duck Pond by the Old Post Office, then continuing by the road until it takes a left hand dog leg before joining the Aire.
Although it is cherished by the residents of Silsden the beck and it’s tributaries face four important challenges; declining water quality, litter and other debris, non-native invasive species and changing water levels and siltation. Here’s a bit more information about each of them.
Many long time residents of Silsden mention that up until a few years ago the beck used to be full of trout, now it is almost devoid of them. What has happened? For a number of years we have been sampling the bugs in the river, they can act as the “canary in the coal mine”, telling us about problems with water quality. Our data tells us that the water quality is not as good as it could be and declines considerably in its lower reaches. We believe there are are two main reasons for this:
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Pollution from domestic properties. Most of the houses built in Silsden since the war have two water disposal systems. One takes sewage from the home direct to the sewage farm, the other system takes surface water mainly from the gutter downpipe and driveway runoff and often sends it straight to the river. Often during house alteration pipes from baths, basins and sinks carrying what is termed “grey water” (which should be classed as sewage) may be connected to the surface water system. This grey water can have a serious impact on the creatures living in the beck.For more on this check out our blogs on misconnections 
Domestic waste pollution in Bradley Beck
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Industrial effluent. Businesses direct their waste into the surface water drain which again reaches the beck. 
Dead fish in the beck following an industrial pollution incident (2022).
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FoSB, with help from local residents, has spotted a number of cases of both domestic and industrial pollution. Two recent industrial incidents lead to numerous dead fish at the lower end of the beck. All incidents were reported on the Environment Agency Incident Hotline (0800 807060), they took action on some and are currently investigating an industrial incident (summer 2022).
Litter and other debris.
Any water course running through an urban area has a problem with litter, Silsden Beck is no exception, running alongside the main road for some way it will inevitably collect some litter. Of most concern is plastic pollution, from pop bottles to traffic cones. This is because plastic can remain in the river environment for hundreds of years, slowly migrating downstream until it reaches the sea. As it migrates it will also degrade into smaller and smaller fragments until they are so small they can be eaten by marine wildlife and thus enter the food chain to the detriment of both animals and humans. FoSB in partnership with Plastic Free Silsden have run regular litter picks to remove litter from the beck.
Non-native invasive species (NNIS).
A non-native invasive species is a species of plant or animal which is not native to this country but was introduced by human activity (often by those naughty Victorians!). They often cause problems because they have no natural enemies here, meaning that they can out compete native species that do have enemies. NNIS are numerous, the NNSS website lists about eighty, from the Siberian chipmonk to the leathery sea squirt and hottentot fig! Here in Silsden we don’t need to worry about most of them, here are a few NNIS that are causing or may cause problems on the beck.
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Himalayan Balsam.
Anyone who has been by the beck in the summer knows that we have a problem with Himalayan Balsam, it’s that tall growing plant with the complicated pink flower and exploding seed pods. The problem with Himalayan Balsam is that it out competes other riverside plants this has a knock on effect on the insects and bugs that live on the natives. Also balsam is very shallow rooted and dies away after seeding so the river bank is unstable and liable to erosion in winter floods. The best way to deal with balsam is to pull it up before it sets seed, fortunately with its shallow roots it is very easy to pull. In 2022 FoSB instituted an eradication program, starting from the top of the beck we pulled all the balsam down to the Thornber footbridge. |
Himalayan Balsam flowers and seed pods.
Pulled balsam at the top end of the beck.
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In subsequent years we plan to work our way downstream, but also keep a watching eye in case there is any regeneration upstream. For more details see the NNSS information sheet
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Japanese knotweed (JKW).
Like Himalayan Balsam Japanese knot weed was imported as a garden plant by the victorians. Although it is not as invasive as balsam it is a lot more difficult to eradicate once it is established. It is spread by dispersal of root, and stem particles, often when infected top soil is relocated. It can be a problem if it gets established near buildings as the roots can occasionally damage walls and foundations. Infestations of JKW are also said to reduce the value of a property by up to 15%. JKW has a very deep and extensive root system so it cannot be controlled just by pulling it up, it requires chemical treatment and when it is close to a watercourse it is best this treatment is done by experts to avoid water contamination. |
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We are monitoring the beck for JKW and know of a couple of locations. If you spot some JKN by the beck please tell us about it. For more details see the NNSS information sheet.
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Signal crayfish.
Signal crayfish were introduced to this country in the 1970’s (not the victorians this time) for commercial production. Very bad decision, they soon escaped from the farms and began to out compete our native white clawed crayfish which have drastically declined since. They don’t just out compete, they are also carriers of crayfish plague which kills the white |
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claws but not the signals. They are also bad news for other river wildlife, feeding on fish and amphibian eggs, tadpoles, juvenile fish and aquatic invertebrates. However our native otters love to eat them. They are also great burrowers, creating tunnels in the bank up to two metres long and hence destabilising the bank. They can spread though human activity, anglers, boating and canoeing, etc. They can also travel overland on wet nights to find new locations. Signal crayfish are now so prolific on our waterways it seems impossible to control them. For more information see the NNSS information sheet.
The water flow in the beck is dependent on a certain flow from the reservoir. With climate change we are experiencing hotter, dryer summers, leading to reduced levels in the reservoir. This will require occasional drops in the outflow from the reservoir in order to conserve levels, we know this occurred recently (summer 2022). Less outflow means less water in the beck, making any pollution incident more serious as there is less water to dilute the effluent. This may have contributed to the fish kill in 2022. Additionally the lower flow may mean more algal growth and increased siltation, especially as there is evidence of silt run off from estate construction to the north of the town. This layering of algae and silt can have a drastic impact on the fish and invertebrate life in the beck.
