Medway
Catchment partnership vision
To encourage and maintain healthy rivers that are able to support characteristic environments, rich in habitat and biodiversity - with people at the heart of the catchment. This will ensure a clean and plentiful water supply and encourage resilience to flood and drought through supporting the natural processes that deliver sustainability.
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
This large, rural catchment needs a more joined-up approach to enable landowners to manage land in the best possible ways to preserve water quality
Pollution from waste water
Large urban settlements, growing populations and more intense rainfall events create a serious threat to water quality from combined sewer overflows
Changes to the natural flow and water levels
Endemic physical modifications to the watercourse and catchment exacerbate irregular flows and water levels in a water scarce region
Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership
Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
Projected population growth will further exacerbate inadequacy of wastewater infrastructure, already significantly affecting water quality
Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
The impacts of climate change on water resources in the landscape will be felt most acutely in the south east - already a water scarce region
Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Landscape-scale recovery has huge potential in the Medway and will ultimately have the most profound and lasting impact on the catchment
Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
Significant agricultural land use in the catchment means widespread soil health improvements could have a profound benefit
Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
Large catchment, with many urban clusters, is a significant source of litter to the Thames Estuary and the Channel
Connecting communities with nature
Engaging local people and stakeholders is a huge untapped resource in the Medway that could catalyse the Partnership's work
Future challenges predicted by partnership
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
The Medway catchment has a broad mixture of agricultural enterprises, only by working in partnership to understand and manage risks can we meet this challenge across the catchment
Pollution from waste water
Significant pressure upon the catchment from proposed large numbers of new housing in an area where existing infrastructure is already inadequate
Changes to the natural flow and water levels
Water scarcity from both increased demand and the impacts of climate change (longer drier summers), in an already water stressed part of the country
Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency
Future challenges in 2050
- Invasive Non-native Species
- Pollution from waste water
- Physical Modifications
Emerging challenges
- Pollution from waste water
- Physical Modifications
- Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021
A 3-year partnership project (FRAMES) was delivered to help increase the resilience of communities and infrastructure to flood risk, using natural flood management (NFM) such as leaky woody structures and offline storage ponds. Completing habitat restoration projects along the River Teise greatly increased the variation of habitat and habitat connectivity along the river. This work included removing four weirs and introducing woody deflectors to narrow the channel and vary the flow. The Holistic Water for Horticulture (HWH) project works with fruit farms to encourage adoption of water saving measures and increase farm resilience to water scarcity, as well as reducing abstraction pressures on local water courses in an increasingly water scarce region. The PROWATER project began in 2017 and made significant strides in developing a partnership approach to delivering Ecosystem-based Adaptation measures to increase resilience to water scarcity across the Medway. The Invasive Non-native Species project delivered with local organisations has treated over 15,000 giant hogweed plants and has consistently reduced floating pennywort, which otherwise threatened to compromise the navigability of the Medway. The diversity of projects that are being completed or developed show the catchment partnership’s improving capacity and aptitude to address the issues affecting a large and diverse catchment.
Partnership development plans
We will carry over the momentum from our recent successes and partnership building into future projects that address catchment wide priorities, as well as more localised issues. We will develop and grow the involvement of communities in our partnership approach, to represent their views and build grassroots support. We will take a long term view to addressing the issues that have the greatest impacts on the catchment and evaluate the extent of our progress against clear measurable goals.
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
- Manage modified habitats
- Delivery mechanism
- Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
- Location
- Medway
Confident
The partnership is growing its capacity to offer a range of land management advice across the catchment
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Other Public funding
- Location
- Medway
Confident
Holistic Water for Horticulture (HWH) is offering support to fruit farms to increase resilience to water scarcity
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage abstractions
- Delivery mechanism
- Grant giving trusts and businesses
- Location
- Medway
Confident
The Plastic Pollution Prevention project is aiming to reduce plastic pollution in the Medway through local engagement
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- EU funding
- Location
- Medway
Confident
The INNS project will further strengthen local partnerships to continue to manage threats from invasive species
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage invasive non-native species
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Location
- Medway
Less certain
There is scope to build on the successes of the past three years and add more natural flood management interventions
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage regulated flows
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Barriers to delivery
- Project is not yet developed
- Location
- Medway
Less certain
Local interest groups are examining issues in the Upper Medway to inform plans for local action
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Grant giving trusts and businesses
- Barriers to delivery
- Risks around timing of funding, project is not yet developed
- Location
- Eridge Stream
Less certain
There is more potential for habitat restoration on the River Teise and planned walkovers to scope possible measures
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Risks around funding and timing of funding, project is not yet developed
- Location
- Marden Mill Stream
Less certain
Working with farmer clusters to implement nature-based solutions for water on a catchment scale, whilst identifying long term funding strategies
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- Landscape Recovery (ELMS)
- Barriers to delivery
- Project is not yet developed
- Location
- Medway
Less certain
Scope out possible restoration projects on the River Beult, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Reason for measure
- Manage modified habitats
- Delivery mechanism
- Grant giving trusts and businesses
- Barriers to delivery
- Project is not yet developed
- Location
- Hammer Stream
Catchment Partnership contributors
Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership:
- Environment Agency
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
- South East Rivers Trust
- Internal Drainage Board
- Kent Wildlife Trust
- Southern Water
- Kent Countryside Management Partnerships
- Kent County Council
- SES Water
- South East Water
- Natural England
- Countryside Landowners Association
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- Friends of the River Medway
- National Farmers Union