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Introduction to the River Calder, Yorkshire, England

CalderWeb allows you to visit the River Calder, to look at maps and photographs, to examine data and read a commentary. This virtual visit can be used to discover and study the River Calder and its tributaries in Kirklees. The site is targeted at visitors studying rivers and water quality in upper secondary schools.

The River Calder rises on the Pennine Moors, West of Todmorden and drains an area of 957 km2. It is predominantly an urban catchment flowing through the West Yorkshire conurbation towns of Halifax, Brighouse, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Wakefield before joining the River Aire at Castleford.

The catchment owes much of its development to the Industrial Revolution, in particular the textile industry, which, along with the chemical industry, is still important to the water management of the catchment today. Due to its industrial base the rivers of the lower catchment suffer from pollution with 25% classed as having poor quality.

The streams of the upper catchment draining the gritstones are so acidic few fish can live in them or the reservoirs they feed. Despite this acidity, the catchment is heavily reservoired, with 39 licensed to provide water, after treatment, for public supply. Water supplies within the catchment are supplemented by imported water from Winscar Reservoir at the head of the Don catchment to the south and from the rivers of North Yorkshire.

Because of nearby industry and the need to move goods around the Calder catchment there are 68 km of canal and navigable river with the catchment, comprising: the Calder and Hebble and the Aire and Calder Navigations, the Huddersfield Broad and Huddersfield Narrow Canals, and the Rochdale Canal, although today they are mostly used for recreation rather than commerce.

The river and its tributaries flow through steep and relatively narrow valleys which react very quickly to rainfall causing rapid rises in water level. Due to the proximity of development to the river and the constraints of the valley, this increases the risk of flooding. As a result the Environment Agency has an ongoing programme to undertake a series of flood defence schemes designed to protect the community from further flooding.

Key Details

Area:	957 km2
Population:	790,000
Geology:	Millstone Grit, Coal Measures, Alluvium

Administrative Details

Counties:	West Yorkshire Lancashire
District Councils:	Kirklees Calderdale Wakefield Burnley Rochdale Bradford Leeds
Water Companies:	Yorkshire Water Services Ltd
Sewage Treatment Works:	23
National Parks:	Peak District
Navigation Authority:	British Waterways & Rochdale Canal Co.
Main Towns: 1981 Census (except *1991)	Wakefield 307,527* Huddersfield 148,544 Halifax 77,354 Dewsbury 50,046 Batley 45,591 Liversedge/Cleckheaton 26,281 Holmfirth 21,148 Ossett 20,415 Mirfield 18,674 Normanton 17,190 Todmorden 11,972 Heckmondwike 9,739

The catchment also includes part of Bradford 450,708* and Castleford 39,401

Water Quality

Length of River in NWC Class - 1992 Survey

Class	km	%
Class 1A	99.0	23.3
Class 1B	102.7	24.1
Class 2	109.5	25.7
Class 3	92.3	21.7
Class 4	22.1	5.2

Total 425.6 km

Length of Canal in NWC Class - 1992 Survey

Class	km	%
Class 1A	0	0
Class 1B	52.8	77.2
Class 2	5.0	7.3
Class 3	10.6	15.5
Class 4	0	0

Total 68.4 km

Flood Protection

Length of designated Main River: 108.9 km
Length of Flood Defences on Main River: 169.4 km
Number of People and Property Protected from Flooding: 6969 House Equivalents

Water Resources

Dry Weather River Flow (DWF)

DWF in Cumecs (Cubic metres per second)

River Calder	Elland 2.124 Methley 5.739
River Colne	Longroyd Bridge 0.322 Colne Bridge 0.682
River Holme	Queens Mill 0.505

Information from the Calder Management Plan- Consultation Report, courtesy of the Environment Agency.

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This site was created through a joint project between Kirklees School Effectiveness Service and the Environment Agency. This work was initiated in 1996 and the site launched in 1999. It is intended for use by secondary school students.