Workshop session Capturing examples of other innovative delivery mechanisms / best practice

Transcription

1 Workshop session Capturing examples of other innovative delivery mechanisms / best practice #lowlandcatchment #Swenvironment LinkedIn Lowland Catchments

2 Brighton Chalk Management Partnership: Brighton ChaMP for Water Aimee Felus, Project Manager Brighton ChaMP for Water Protecting our precious groundwater in the South Downs

3 Threshold for nitrates in drinking water EA = 35 mg/l NO3 DWS = 50mg/l NO3

4 Provide practical advice and improvements to land management in the urban and rural area Raise public and land-manager awareness of groundwater protection Informing the evidence base & undertaking success monitoring

5 Hydrocarbons, heavy metals, nitrates from road run-off 10.7% urban area influence in source apportionment for Goldstone

6 Roadside raingardens cleanse water RBA Associates

7 Road gullies Soakaways Known dissolution features

8 Shared resource, shared goals

9 Customers care 25% of Southern Water customers are members of Blueprint for Water organisations Customers are also custodians

10 Adding value It makes financial sense

11 Evidence is important collaboratively generated evidence and experience is even more powerful

12 Building relationships and trust

13 Different perspectives

14 Growing connections and sharing learning and knowledge ripple effects

15 Building partnerships within our organisations Time to momentum and success Landowner engagement Information sharing Signposting Lack of evidence/information/data Sustainability Timing of interventions within business planning

16 Align with farm clusters Wider project, more landscape scale catchment management More collaboration across company boundaries European cooperation Long term planning and commitments Real world knowledge inform models/business plans etc.

17 TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE RESEARCH PHOTO BY KAY LEDBETTER

18 The Rivers Trust for the Kennet catchment Partnership working on catchment scale issues

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22 Joint aims & objectives Thames Water (Water Efficiency) Save water and water efficiency advice for customers Reduce demand Value of water Link water use to the local environment & wildlife Increase uptake of smarter home visits in area Meet water efficiency target set by Ofwat Link with our Bin it don t block it campaign Successful partnership ARK ( Water Matters ) Save water and give advice so more water in local rivers Reduce demand and abstraction at Axford Link water use to the local environment Improve understanding of rivers and wildlife Reduce pollution of river Kennet from blocked sewers (Bin it messages)

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27 Smarter Home Visits (SHVs) Thames Water s in-home water efficiency visit: Free fit of water saving devices Free wastage fix (leaking toilets & taps) Household specific water report & potential savings 16,000 SHVs delivered in Oxford & Newbury areas in 2016/17 137

28 Soil and nutrient loss from farms: Clogged spawning gravels Increased algal blooms High nitrate in groundwater

29 Reduced erosion with no tillage September storm: tilled field (erosion) left, no till (no erosion) right.

30 Trial results No cover crop at this site

31 Cover crops = resilient soils + better water infiltration + less fertiliser + less herbicide + less polluted runoff + healthier rivers + cleaner groundwater

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33 Lowland Catchment Workshop, Gatwick Hilton, 5th July 2017 Partnerships Alastair Stewart Project Manager Downs & Harbours Clean Water Partnership

34 Downs & Harbours Clean Water Partnership Formed in 2008 Partnership between Portsmouth Water, Natural England (CSF Partner) and the Environment Agency (EA) Voluntary scheme Free services and advice Now sits within Portsmouth Water s Catchment Management team

35 Project area: Downs & Harbours Project area: 1000 km² / 100,000 ha

36 Protect and improve groundwater for public drinking water supplies Reduce pressures on ecology of local rivers Reduce ecological impacts on protected areas e.g. SSSIs, bathing waters & shellfish waters Reduce algal growth in Portsmouth, Chichester and Langstone harbours - also the River Hamble estuary Main issue: nitrate in groundwaters Rising nitrate in drinking water Eutrophication of coastal waters - effect on protected areas Other pollutants of concern General aims Phosphate, sediment, FIOs, pesticides, oils & other hydrocarbons

37 Portsmouth Water resources - hydrogeology 50% wells and boreholes (groundwater) excellent quality 35% natural springs (groundwater potentially large effect by swallow holes) good quality 15% river water (groundwater fed) poor quality Treatment depends on raw water quality; test for: metals, nutrients (e.g. nitrate), turbidity, pesticides, bacteria, colour, taste & odour

38 Types of Downs & Harbours delivery 1:1 visits / specialist advice all FREE Infrastructure audits Pesticide handling / biobed advice Rain water harvesting Specialist soil management + organic matter plan Fertiliser spreader / sprayer calibration Soil testing including Min N Precision N and P field mapping/application Workshops / farm walks Tillage Pesticide handling and biobeds Organic matter and alternative nutrient sources Equine grassland management Water Capital Grants Scheme Launched - 10 farmers successful with applications to date

39 Who are the partners? Specific teams in partner organisations: NE Stewardship, CSFOs, Land Management & Coastal teams EA Groundwater, Land Man't & Marine teams; E Hants & W Stream Catchment Management Officers Other more informal partners: Local agronomists, SOYL (Frontier) - re delivery South Downs National Park Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, Wild Trout Trust, H&IoWWT + Arun and Rother Rivers Trust Meon Valley Partnership Other water companies directly or via the UKWIR or WRC National Farmers' Union

40 Where it has worked Soil nutrient mapping SOYL; CCC agronomy Min N testing & precision N application Targeting riparian farms on the River Wallington (EA flooding) Resolving industrial estate balancing pond issue - point source pollution on the River Wallington (EA led + Southern Water) River restoration on the River Ems (via PW NEP programme/arun & Rother Rivers Partnership) Workshop in conjunction with the British Horse Society (equine issues) In progress or in development (PW CM team) Cluster Farms group: farmer led - reduce nitrate losses Chichester Harbour: joint approach to improvements Forestry Commission: tree planting/wood products Woodland Trust: species diversity Partnership working Oil tank inspections for domestic customers PES scheme via Interreg (UK and French partners, hosted by Chichester University) AHDB exemplar/demonstration farms (best practice); economic assessments

41 Some pros and cons Benefits Cons Information exchange (NB: data protection) Access to the Land Registry (CLAD) data, grant schemes (WCGS of CSF) Close working re specific targeting, e.g. WFD/SGZ, farming & marine overlapping goals Joint events, meetings and approaches for/to farmers and land managers Win-wins for farmers, contractors, water companies and catchments, e.g. specialist 1:1 delivery economic/environmental benefits and reducing risks Defra cutbacks: loss of staff, (local) knowledge and resources to do their job Lack of regulation & regulatory back-up where voluntary approaches do not seem to work Moving goalposts; confusion re priority targets WFD, SGZ, CS, flooding? Endless/time-consuming administration (CSF) for little gain to the water company Silo thinking focus of some partners on their own aims; don t actively contribute to your work Poor feedback/information exchange Increasing pressure on water companies to solve the problems change of focus?

42 Engagement so far: filling in the gaps.

43 PW Catchment Management: evidence gathering Source pathway - receptor Remote sensing Ground penetrating radar Nitrate source apportionment modelling Nitrate time series modelling Tracer studies Rising nitrate Nitrate monitors

44 Moving forwards Growing roles of water companies to do catchment management: PR19 Using generated data to inform targeting & most cost-effective solutions (measuring effectiveness) Further awareness raising & providing convincing reasons (e.g. economic) to land owners/users to bring about change, especially where regulation is lacking Innovation Developing partnerships further: work with those who play ball; invite others to participate Partnership works! Maindell Nitrate and Idsworth Well Ground Water Level Ground Water(m)/Nitrate (mg/l) /05/ /01/ /10/ /07/ /04/ /01/ /10/ /07/2009 Date Result Nitrate Groundwater Nitrate PCV Linear Trend

45 Thank you! Any questions?

46 The Potential for Delivery Through Farm Clusters

47 Colin Hedley Who? Farmers son from Langstone. Still keep some cattle and Director of Three Harbours Beef Ltd. Worked for Sussex FWAG and CLA before starting consultancy in Partner in FWAG South East LLP Facilitator of Arun to Adur Farmers Group; just started year three of five year Facilitation Funded Project. Will be named Facilitator on re-application for F F on behalf of Rother Valley farmers Group this year. Facilitator of South Downs Farmers Group based around Chalton working with Portsmouth Water.

48 The Potential is Great! Why? Huge knowledge and commitment amongst most farmers, from individual species to precision farming. Strong desire to innovate, progress and achieve. Often consider environmental management on a whole farm basis integrated within the business. Complex soils and businesses, compounded by climate change need motivated land managers to meet challenges. Strong desire to take control of their destiny and be well rewarded for delivering vital services.

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50 The Arun to Adur Farmers Group Twenty Eight farmers signed up covering over 9000 ha Regular contact with farmers and their advisers to help motivate, guide delivery and share bright ideas General and specific training soils, cover crops, lapwing, rare species. Annual farm walk for the general public these are your local farmers delivering benefits for the local community Co-ordinate and guide delivery of CSS options to try and achieve the landscape scale approach Look to help the farm business by reducing costs, maximising CSS income and attracting additional funding into the project area directly and through enhanced profile Clear and major environmental benefits Strong indications that this will be a long-term initiative

51 Securing the Potential After decades of moving towards the integration of conservation management on commercial farmland this is being eroded by bureaucracy, inflexibility, the penalty system, low incentives and a scheme not designed to meet the needs of farmers. To meet its potential land needs knowledgeable and well rewarded stewards Land managers want to deliver and innovate but will not commit long-term to overly restrictive and / or poorly rewarded schemes Great opportunity for Water Companies to drive forward catchment partnerships but listen to farmers and offer incentives related to cost benefits.

52 Some examples...

53 #lowlandcatchment #Swenvironment LinkedIn Lowland Catchments Q&A