HOW do we feel about the River Wye?

There seem to be people making outrageous and unnecessary plans to keep the water levels high.

To pump water from Marlow is a ludicrous idea, disharmonious with any natural law imaginable. I feel that this would be a waste of time, effort and money. I also feel that the people who are responsible for making these decisions should return to the source of the problem.

There are many pumping stations along the course of the Wye and beyond into the Chilterns along the dry river course to Radnage pumping station. The waters of the River Wye are simply over abstracted.

Thames Water makes an outrageous profit each year and, it would seem, has the power to aid the flow of the Wye.

The reason that Wycombe is here is because of this chalky stream. It has been treated badly by us in the past with pollutions, culvertions and ignorance. A lot of her water rises in the Wycome Abbey due to a large borehole.

There are similar boreholes at West Wycombe. What used to be a spring fed stream that once turned 36 mills is now, in places, a muddy trickle. Praise to the recent natural environment enhancements, but is this only an illusory facade if decisions continue to be made solely from economic standpoints. The High Wycombe Society saved The Rye some years back from having a road through it.

Our voices are important, and can make changes. In this post-modern age of pluralism, I feel that decisions about our natural environment should encompass the views and needs of us all, the needs of the spirit of the place and the need for a sense of place. These needs being more than just economic, but social, psychological and spiritual.

Open your eyes to a harmonious future. Water flows according to natural law. I feel that whatever decision is made concerning the Wye should go with the flow and harmonise with these laws.

Again, our voices are important. Empower yourself and say what you think and how you feel.

Chris Park

Wycombe Road

Studley Green

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.