Upstream Thinking
England
South West Water provides drinking water and waste water services throughout Cornwall and Devon and in areas of Dorset and Somerset. It is responsible for the supply of the region’s drinking water, the treatment and disposal of sewage, and the protection of inland and bathing waters. Since 2003, the water provider has invested heavily in catchment-based solutions. Since then, and particularly in its2020-25 business plan, South West has increased its focus on catchment-based solutions to improve raw water quality by reducing pollution and sediment loads from land use runoff and soil degradation. Its catchment-based interventions have multiple purposes, helping slow the flow of water from upland areas and, in turn, reducing flood risk and increasing water availability.
Challenges
In 2003, South West Water had to face the challenges brought by eutrophication at Upper Tamar Lakes. Back then, the reservoir had started experiencing an annual nutrient-driven algal bloom, which caused problems for water supply and ecology downstream. To address this problem, the company turned its attention to nature-based solutions and later launched its catchment management scheme, Upstream Thinking, in 2007.
Financing
Upstream Thinking is delivered by South West Water, a part of Pennon Group, a private utility company. The programme is funded by South West Water from customer charges as agreed with Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales. The investment from SWW has been over £20m in the last 10 years. Funds are transferred to delivery partners who administer the farm advisory and grant programme. The funding is also used to attract further available catchment funding (e.g. Interreg, Defra schemes). This match funding acquisition has increased the total catchment spending by a ratio of 1:2, raising the actual investment to three times its initial size.
Smita Sharma
Actions & Impacts
Through Upstream Thinking, South West Water applies natural landscape solutions to water quality challenges. The aim of the project is to prevent pesticides, nutrients and other pollutants from getting into rivers. Doing this, less pressure is put on water treatment plants, allowing the process to be faster, cheaper and more efficient. Improved water quality in the catchment also has a positive impact on biodiversity in the area. The main delivery partner organisations work closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, the National Farmers Union and the local Catchment Partnerships. The current programme consists of a partnership between South West Water, the Devon Wildlife Trust, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the Westcountry Rivers Trust and the Exmoor National Park Authority. The programme targets 750 farms in the area and 1,300 hectares of moorland and other semi-natural land32.
The programme works with farmers and landowners to minimise impact on watercourses. Farm advisers visit farms and carry out an assessment resulting in a whole-farm plan, which includes capital investment proposals targeted at water quality improvements, which can be up to 50 percent funded by the Upstream Thinking programme. The plans can include improvements to slurry storage, fencing to keep livestock out of rivers, alternative water sources for livestock, and better pesticide management.
One component of the programme is delivered by the Exmoor Mires Partnership. It allowed investigating and restoring over 2,000 hectares of land on Exmoor in the period 2010-15 by blocking drainage ditches. Blocking drainage ditches allows the moorland to hold more water and release it more slowly, reducing potential flooding elsewhere. In the first implementation period, a third less water left the restoration areas during heavy rainfall. This early success meant that the Environment Agency fully endorsed the project; work on blocking drainage ditches on Exmoor continues, with a target of restoring a further 500 hectares of peatland by 2020.
References
- South West Water. (2018). Our Vision: 2020/2050 Environment Plan.
- South West Water, The University of Exeter. (2016). Upstream Thinking: SWW’s catchment management.
- Upstream Thinking, South West Water website
