The river Colne rises at Steeple Bumpstead & flows south east through Halstead & the Colne Valley to Colchester, where it becomes tidal before joining the Blackwater Estuary and ultimately the North Sea.

 

The headwaters of the catchment are predominantly rural in nature, giving way to a more urban environment downstream at Colchester. There are a number of abstractions along the river for irrigation and water is abstracted and pumped to Abberton Reservoir for public drinking water supply.

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To view the Environment Agency's Catchment Data Explorer page on this river click here.

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The Essex Rivers Hub has completed improvement projects on the river, which you can read about here.