Catchment management
Catchment management schemes will play a crucial role in improving the environments we abstract water from, making them more resilient against climate change and making more water available at key times - enabling sustainable abstraction to continue.
Catchment management means protecting water quality at source and delivering environmental benefits to help achieve the targets in the Government’s 25-year plan for the environment.
The regional plan has identified 67 potential catchment management schemes, across numerous catchments. Some projects will be delivered by more than one water company.
Many schemes won't produce more water but they could improve the catchments we abstract from and our management of raw water supplies.
By increasing climate change resilience and making more water available at key times, they can enable sustainable abstraction.
Water companies will continue to work with local land managers and regulators to make the environment more resilient to drought and flooding and help improve water quality at source.
They are already collaborating with local catchment groups to progress current and future projects.
Schemes might include:
- River restoration
- Nutrient and sediment reduction
- Integrated catchment management
- Working with farmers to improve land management practices
- Natural flood management and wetland creation
- Habitat creation and management
- Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).
