# River Leam

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The **River Leam** (/lɛm/) is a [river](/source/River) in England which rises at [Hellidon](/source/Hellidon) Hill in [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire) then flows through [Warwickshire](/source/Warwickshire), including the town of [Leamington Spa](/source/Leamington_Spa),[1] named after it. It then flows into the [River Avon](/source/River_Avon,_Warwickshire) near [Warwick](/source/Warwick), which flows into the [River Severn](/source/River_Severn).

## Toponymy

The name is first recorded in 956 as *Limenan*, and derives from [British](/source/Common_Brittonic) *Lemanā*, meaning "elm-tree river".[2]

## Tributaries

Its major tributaries are [Rains Brook](/source/Rains_Brook), [River Itchen](/source/River_Itchen,_Warwickshire), [River Stowe](/source/River_Stowe) and [Radford Brook](/source/Radford_Brook).[1]

## Water quality

The Environment Agency measures the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: 'high', 'good', 'moderate', 'poor' or 'bad'. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of [invertebrates](/source/Invertebrate), [angiosperms](/source/Angiosperm) and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated 'good' or 'fail'.[3]

Water quality of the River Leam in 2019:

Section Ecological Status Chemical Status Overall Status Length Catchment Channel 23.642 km (14.690 mi) 62.907 km2 (24.289 sq mi) 13.775 km (8.559 mi) 62.148 km2 (23.995 sq mi) 22.553 km (14.014 mi) 65.72 km2 (25.37 sq mi)

## See also

- [Rivers of the United Kingdom](/source/Rivers_of_the_United_Kingdom)

## References

1. ["River Leam Catchment Pilot"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130202045624/http://environment-agency.gov.uk/research/planning/144137.aspx). Environment Agency. Archived from [the original](http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/planning/144137.aspx) on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.

1. Watts, Victor (ed.) (2010), "Leam", *The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names*, [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press), ISBN 9780521168557

1. ["Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status)"](http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/glossary). *Catchment Data Explorer*. Environment Agency. 17 February 2016. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an [Open Government Licence v3.0](http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). © Crown copyright.

## External links

- [The Manor of Hunningham](http://www.hunningham.org.uk)

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