Lower Mersey Catchment Partnership
- Catchment HostMersey Rivers Trust (formerly Healthy Waterways Trust)
- River Basin DistrictNorth West
- Management CatchmentMersey Lower
- Management Catchment ID3051
Catchment partnership vision
Our vision is of an urban catchment with a healthy water environment that everyone will be proud of, and which contributes fully to economic and social well-being of the local area. Our objectives to deliver our vision are:
- developing an evidence base upon which informed decisions can be taken
- ensuring cleaner and healthier waterbodies establishing integrated water management
- supporting opportunities for using the water environment and engaging the community.
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
Physical modifications
Barriers restrict fish and eel passage with many long culverts that are expensive to remove
Pollution from towns, cities and transport
Urban diffuse pollution from road run-off and misconnections are causing pollution
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
Rural diffuse pollution from septic tanks and poor rural land management practice are polluting watercourses
Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership
Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
Aging Victorian infrastructure and misconnections in heavily populated areas, but investment for upgrading infrastructure is challenged
Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Loss of biodiversity across the catchment requires a strategic catchment approach with partners including local authorities
Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
River Mersey has been highlighted internationally as being a particular challenge for plastic pollution
Connecting communities with nature
Need to address lack of awareness in the community to bring behaviour change, especially those difficult to engage and hard to convert
Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
High proportion of urban areas in catchment presenting difficult challenges for biodiversity
Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
Extreme weather putting increased pressure on catchment systems e.g. drought and storm impacts impacting watercourses, water quality and flooding
Future challenges predicted by partnership
Physical modifications
Barriers from industrial past severely restricting fish and eel passage and with many long culverts will still be a challenge in this catchment as they are expensive to remove
Pollution from waste water
With a complex and increasingly densely populated urban area, the ambition for upgrading infrastructure plus addressing misconnections will continue to pose investment challenges
Pollution from towns, cities and transport
The high proportion of urban area in this catchment leads to urban diffuse pollution from various sources that will continue to present difficult challenges for biodiversity
Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency
Future challenges in 2050
- Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport
- Invasive Non-native Species
- Physical Modifications
Emerging challenges
- Pollution from waste water
- Physical Modifications
- Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021
We have developed an evidence-based approach to our work, for example: natural flood management (NFM) risk mapping with lead local flood authorities leading to NFM project implementation at Court Hey Park; scientific water quality measurements and citizen science 'river guardians'; monitoring natural capital mapping. Project delivery: restoration of the River Fender; leaky dams installed for NFM at Low Hall, Borsdane Woods and Rivacre Valley; partnership delivery under enforcement undertaking with Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust, Mersey Rivers Trust and Groundwork Trust as delivery partners. Carbon landscape partnership delivered a range of projects, such as: wetland creation; control of Invasive species at Low Hall Local Nature Reserve; NFM at Bickershaw. Successful feasibility study with Highways England; development work across multiple catchments; facilitated the Water theme for Liverpool Year of the Environment 2019, engaging wider stakeholders. Catchment plans distributed at the Environment Summit event in Liverpool. Litter awareness and plastic free Mersey projects; Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust surveys and habitat improvements; developing a fisheries strategy across multiple catchments. Using 'story maps' to utilise evidence, identify needs and prioritise. We also have a more robust focus on programme of measures and project development with joint bids.
Partnership development plans
Using additional data from natural capital mapping or drainage and waste water management plans to enable an even better evidence-base. Further develop 'story map' to plan local actions, taking advantage of future and alternative funding opportunities.
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
- Mersey Lower
Confident
Improve water quality, habitat restoration and public engagement via the 'Speke to Spike' project
- Reason for measure
- Manage modified habitats
- Delivery mechanism
- Other local funding
- Location
- MERSEY
Confident
River Guardian programme with local engagement and citizen science surveys in various localities across the catchment
- Reason for measure
- Manage modified habitats
- Delivery mechanism
- Grant giving trusts and businesses
- Location
- Mersey Lower
Confident
Great Manchester Wetlands Land Manager Group, engage land-managers to influence catchment outcomes
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Current Rural Development Programme
- Location
- Glaze
Less certain
Implement a range of nature based solutions to address urban diffuse pollution from highway outfalls
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Highways England Programme
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding is not secured yet
- Location
- Mersey Lower
Less certain
Local nature recovery using habitat banking
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF)
- Barriers to delivery
- Funding applied for is not yet secured
- Location
- Sankey
Less certain
Revive Rivacre Brook
- Reason for measure
- Manage modified habitats
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Reinstate the withdrawn WEIF funding for Phase 2 delivery of the project
- Location
- Rivacre Brook
Less certain
Improve land management practices by delivery of capital interventions and farm engagement
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
- Barriers to delivery
- Not yet applied for funding
- Location
- Mersey Lower
Less certain
Restoration of heavily modified waterbodies to increase longitudinal and lateral connectivity
- Reason for measure
- Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
- Delivery mechanism
- WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
- Barriers to delivery
- Not yet applied for funding
- Location
- Mersey Lower
Less certain
Natural Flood Management alongside water quality improvements and habitat improvements
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage regulated flows
- Delivery mechanism
- EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
- Barriers to delivery
- Secure funding
- Location
- Mersey Lower
Wider water environment
Litter and plastic awareness campaigns
- Reason for measure
- Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
- Delivery mechanism
- Other philanthropic/charitable/trust funds
- Location
- Mersey Upper Mersey Lower
Wider water environment
Deliver operational catchment projects such as those in the Sankey Catchment Plan and via Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership on the Glaze
- Reason for measure
- Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
- Delivery mechanism
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- Location
- Mersey Lower
Wider water environment
Fisheries Strategy for the Mersey River Basin
- Reason for measure
- Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
- Delivery mechanism
- Other philanthropic/charitable/trust funds
- Location
- Irwell Mersey Upper Mersey Lower
Catchment Partnership contributors
Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership:
- Nature Connected
- Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust
- Cheshire West and Chester Council
- United Utilities
- Liverpool John Moore University
- St Helens Council
- Wigan Council
- Cheshire Wildlife Trust
- Mersey Rivers Trust
- Wirral Council
- Halton Council
- Mersey Forest
- SSE
- City of Trees
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Groundwork Cheshire Lancashire Merseyside
- Warrington Council
- Unilever
- Lancashire Wildlife Trust
- NFU
- Environment Agency