Winterbourne (stream)

A winterbourne is a stream or river that is dry through the summer months. A winterbourne is sometimes simply called a bourne, from the Anglo-Saxon word for a stream flowing from a spring, although this term can also be used for all-year water courses.

Winterbournes generally form in areas where there is chalk (or other porous rock) downland bordering clay valleys or vales. When it rains, the porous chalk holds water in its aquifer, releasing the water at a steady rate. During dry seasons the water table may fall below the level of the stream's bed, causing it to dry out.

Winterbournes occasionally give their names to settlements. Many of the United Kingdom's 'Winterbournes' are villages in Dorset, such as Winterbourne Abbas, Winterborne Monkton, Winterborne St Martin, Zelston, Houghton, Whitchurch, and Compton. In Wiltshire, north of Avebury there are the villages of Winterbourne Monkton and Winterbourne Bassett; and in South Gloucestershire there are the villages of Winterbourne and Winterbourne Down.

Exploitation of chalk aquifers as a domestic water source in Britain has had the effect of converting many streams and rivers into artificial winterbournes. This effect is controversial, and local campaigns have often been successful in reducing aquifer abstraction and reversing the effect. For an example, see the River Pang in Berkshire.

There is a Winterbourne stream in a suburban area of Lewes, East Sussex. The area is also called Winterbourne. The stream runs from the foot of the Downs through a park, a housing estate, a public garden and ends at the Railway Land Nature Reserve. It is a clear and verdant stream, much frequented by ducks. Another Winterbourne stream is found In Chichester, West Sussex.

Rivers, streams and springs

Rivers	Alluvial river Braided river Blackwater river Channel Channel pattern Channel types Confluence Distributary Drainage basin Subterranean river River bifurcation River ecosystem River source Tributary more...

Streams	Arroyo Bourne Burn Chalk stream Coulee Current Gill Stream Stream bed Stream channel Stream gradient Stream pool Perennial stream Winterbourne more...

Springs	Geyser Sacred spring Hot spring Mineral spring Rhythmic spring Spring Spring horizon more...

Sedimentary processes and erosion	Abrasion Anabranch Aggradation Armor Bed load Bed material load Granular flow Debris flow Deposition Dissolved load Downcutting Erosion Headward erosion Knickpoint Palaeochannel Progradation Retrogradation Saltation Secondary flow Sediment transport Suspended load Wash load Water gap

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Surface runoff	Agricultural wastewater treatment Effluent First flush Urban runoff Wastewater

Floods and stormwater	100-year flood Crevasse splay Flash flood Flood Flood barrier Flood control Flood forecasting Flood-meadow Floodplain Flood pulse concept Flooded grasslands and savannas Storm Water Management Model Return period

River measurement and modelling	Baer's law Baseflow Bradshaw model Discharge (hydrology) Drainage density Exner equation Groundwater model Hack's law Hjulström curve Hydrograph Hydrological modelling Hydrological transport model Infiltration (hydrology) Main stem Playfair's Law Relief ratio River continuum concept Rouse number Runoff curve number Runoff model (reservoir) Stream gauge Universal Soil Loss Equation WAFLEX Wetted perimeter Volumetric flow rate

River engineering	Aqueduct Balancing lake Canal Check dam Dam Drop structure Daylighting Detention basin Erosion control Fish ladder Floodplain restoration Flume Infiltration basin Leat Levee Retention basin Revetment Riparian zone restoration Stream restoration Weir

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Other topics	Aquifer Aquatic toxicology Body of water Limnology Riparian zone River civilization River cruise Surface water World Rivers Day

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Winterbourne (stream)

See also