About

The East Devon management catchment is located in the South West of England. The majority of the catchment is located in the county of Devon, although small areas in the North and East of the catchment are located in Somerset and Dorset respectively. The major river system within the catchment is the Exe and its tributaries, including the Barle, Culm and Creedy. The Exe rises on Exmoor before flowing in roughly a southerly direction to form the Exe estuary to the south of Exeter. Other rivers within the East Devon management catchment include the Otter and Axe, both of which discharge to the south coast. The management catchment includes a broad range of landscapes. Upland moorland areas on Exmoor feature in the north of the catchment, further south the area encompasses the rolling Blackdown Hills and the eastern extremity of the Jurassic Coast. The catchment is predominantly rural with agriculture as the dominant land use. Exeter is the most significant urban area, elsewhere the inland towns Tiverton and Honiton and coastal settlements Sidmouth and Seaton also feature. There are a number of protected areas within the management catchment, including the Exmoor Heaths Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Exmoor and Quantock Oaks SAC, both located towards the north of the management catchment. In the South the River Axe is designated as an SAC, primarily due to the maccrophyte communities it supports. The East Devon Pebblebed Heaths is designated as both an SAC and a Special Protected Area (SPA), with features including Dartford Warbler and European Nightjar. The East Devon and Blackdown Hills Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) feature in the South and East of the catchment, while Exmoor National Park covers the Northern area. Additionally, a number of SSSI designations are distributed across the catchment, and a large area of the middle reaches of the Exe is classified as a Drinking Water Protected Zone.