South Cumbria Catchment Partnership (Becks to Bay including Duddon)
- Catchment HostSouth Cumbria Rivers Trust
- River Basin DistrictNorth West
- Management CatchmentKent and Leven
- Management Catchment ID3045
Catchment partnership vision
The vision for our partnership is 'A healthy, sustainable and diverse catchment system, providing a wide range of benefits which are valued by all'. This partnership covers the Kent/Leven management catchment and the Duddon operational catchment within the South West Lakes management catchment, this catchment pages also includes the evidence and information for the Duddon catchment.
Related websites
Find out more about the activities and ambitions of this catchment partnership and how you can get involved to help improve the water environment in the catchment.
Catchment challenges
Current challenges identified by partnership
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
Septic tanks and a lack of slurry storage is an issue across South Cumbria
Physical modifications
Restricted fish passage and modified river channels are affecting natural function
Changes to the natural flow and water levels
Historic modifications have changed the landscape, cultural value needs to balanced with environmental gain
Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership
Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Joined up landscape scale restoration for habitats and species, linked to the Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
Adapting to pressures of a growing population and tourism, increasing resilience to flood and drought, and reducing habitat and species loss
Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
Improve water quality, store water, capture carbon and increase yields in a largely rural area
Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
Reduce the impact of wastewater on the catchment including improvements to storm overflows and upgrading septic tanks
Connecting communities with nature
Connecting communities and tourists with nature, empowering people to make a change, enhancing health and well-being
Achieving Net Zero including supporting a move to a low carbon economy
Becoming carbon neutral whilst supporting jobs and promoting sustainable growth
Future challenges predicted by partnership
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
South Cumbria is a largely rural area, source apportionment shows agriculture and septic tanks to be key contributors to water quality issues
Changes to the natural flow and water levels
South Cumbria has been affected by large scale storms events in recent years and issues with drought are increasing
Physical modifications
Man-made physical modification are widespread across South Cumbria impeding natural processes
Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency
Future challenges in 2050
- Invasive Non-native Species
- Physical Modifications
- Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
Emerging challenges
- Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
- Physical Modifications
- Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021
The partnership was established in 2015 and now comprises of more than 15 organisations who meet regularly to network, discuss project opportunities and drive forward a strategy for the future of South Cumbria. This has allowed for the development of a shared set of aims and objectives underpinned by robust data and evidence from a wide range of sources. A catchment plan has been developed and is now hosted online. Additionally, over the past few years the group have improved engagement around flood work, bringing together a range of partners to prioritise communities at risk and develop multi-benefit projects to both reduce flood impact and deliver environmental enhancements. This approach has also been seen in some of the other projects supported and delivered by the partnership, including the catchment wide Conserving Coniston and Crake project, the Morecambe Bay facilitation fund and wholescape approach to marine management projects, and the United Utilities Raw Water project, which take a collaborative approach to catchment management.
Partnership development plans
The partnership is developing a pipeline of collaborative projects. It is also establishing new ways of working to become more inclusive, through the establishment of local working groups who aim to draw together a wider range of stakeholders, including businesses, local councils and community members. Concentrating on actions to improve a wider range of eco-system services, balancing cultural value, including tourism, with environmental gain. The partnership is also looking to identify more sustainable ways of drawing in investment to help achieve the long-term ambitions and scale required.
Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027
Confident
Enhancement/no deterioration measures in 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environment Programme
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage point source discharges
- Delivery mechanism
- Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
- Location
- Kent and Leven
Confident
Trial innovative non mains drainage technology working with land manages to address nutrient pollution in Windermere
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Potential future water industry programme
- Location
- Leven
Confident
Drinking water protected area catchment management measures
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
- Location
- Pennington Reservoir Duddon - Upper Yewdale Beck Poaka Beck Reservoir Church Beck
Confident
Implement the River Restoration Strategy (catchment scale) and low risk barriers programme
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Location
- Kent
Confident
Water quality improvements via Catchment Sensitive Farming programme
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
- Location
- Duddon
Confident
Deliver actions within Lake District National Park Partnership plan
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- Location
- Duddon
Less certain
Furness Becks project, including measures to improve eel passage
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding required to support the project
- Location
- Deep Meadows Beck Mill Beck (Poaka Beck) Dragley Beck
Less certain
Measures to address catchment wide diffuse pollution above bathing waters
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding required to continue Love My Beach project
- Location
- Duddon
Less certain
Wholescale approach to sustainable tourism, supporting businesses and the environment
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- None identified
- Barriers to delivery
- Identify funding and engagement with stakeholders
- Location
- Kent and Leven
Less certain
River Kent, measures to address objectives in the Special Area of Conservation to support improvements for ecology
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- EU funding
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding is required to support delivery
- Location
- Kent
Less certain
Measures to address water quality decline in the Coniston and Crake catchment
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding is required to support delivery
- Location
- Crake
Less certain
Measures to address water quality issues related to heavy metals in Little Langdale and Tilberthwaite
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage point source discharges
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding is required following feasibility study
- Location
- Brathay Upper Yewdale Beck
Wider water environment
Delivery of landscape scale restoration schemes
- Reason for measure
- Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
- Delivery mechanism
- Landscape Recovery (ELMS)
- Location
- Duddon
Wider water environment
Develop a long-term (30 year) plan for Windermere
- Reason for measure
- Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
- Delivery mechanism
- Other Public funding
- Location
- Leven
Wider water environment
Delivery of Environmental Land Management schemes
- Reason for measure
- Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
- Delivery mechanism
- Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
- Location
- Kent and Leven
Catchment Partnership contributors
Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: