Where the New River begins
New gauge
The New River supplies 220 megalitres of water to London every day. This about 8 per cent of the water supply that the city needs.
The artificial river starts just east of Hertford where a measured volume of water flows from the River Lee into the waterway. It flows 20 miles to the east reservoir in Stoke Newington.
In 1613, when the river first opened, the sources of water were natural springs at Chadwell and Amwell.
In 1738 the flow was increased substantially when a statute gave permission for water to be taken from the Rive Lee as well.
In the mid 1800s, steam pumping stations along the length of the river began to extract water from deep wells and increased the flow even more.
Submitted by: Eliza Hunt, 04 March 2007
