Calder Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

The Calder Catchment Partnership seeks to: Improve water stewardship, water quality and biodiversity across the catchment; Reconnect our communities with our rivers, realising the economic and cultural value of rivers; Support education and engagement with our rivers and the wider environment. We will do this by: Co-ordinating activities and sharing expertise across the partnership, facilitating river related improvements that benefit the landscape, people, and wildlife; Collaborating by providing a forum for partners to work together to identify multi-partner and multi-benefit projects, secure funding and support improvement of the Calder catchment; Completing our catchment partnership targets, monitoring and reviewing progress against them and the Catchment Based Approach national success measures.

Calder Rivers Trust

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

    River and habitat quality and connectivity is severely restricted by in-channel barriers and heavy riverbank modification throughout the catchment

  • Pollution from waste water

    Water quality is negatively impacted by the large number and frequency of sewer outfalls discharging into the Calder catchment

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Water quality, habitats and biodiversity are negatively impacted by fine sediment and nutrient pollution in the Calder catchment

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    Habitats are heavily fragmented across the Calder catchment, connected and improved habitats benefit the whole landscape and society

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Storm overflows transmit urban diffuse pollution and sewage pollution too frequently into the wider water environment

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Healthy soils process nutrients and water more effectively, leading to better water quality, natural flood management, plant growth and wildlife

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Working with natural processes across the catchment will build flood risk resilience for communities, and more resilient habitats for wildlife

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    Removing litter and waste from our rivers is important for quality habitats, it is also a great way for people to engage with rivers and wider nature

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Citizen science and volunteering helps communities better understand their local environment, connects people to nature and ensures future protection

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Physical modifications

    The extent of disconnection and historical barriers in this catchment makes it vulnerable to climate change and population growth

  • Pollution from waste water

    The risk of sewer overflows in a system already under pressure will only increase with urbanisation, population growth and more extreme weather patterns

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Increased pressures in rural and agricultural areas are likely to result in more diffuse pollution which will impact on water quality, habitats and biodiversity

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Success highlights since 2016 include:

  • Calder Greening: 6 projects addressing issues with water quality, ecological connectivity, functional habitats, and natural flood management led by Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
  • Invasive Non-native Species control: tackling Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed along river corridors; co-ordinated at the Yorkshire Invasive Species Forum and delivered by multiple partners; successful trial of a landowner pay-in scheme
  • Common Cause Partnership: Yorkshire Water and the National Trust led on restoration of upland peatland and tree planting, supporting improvements to water quality and providing natural flood management
  • Calderdale Natural Flood Management Operation (NFM) Group: coordinating multiple partner, community action tree and hedge planting, water attenuation, NFM through landowner grant scheme
  • Kirklees Future Landscapes Group: multiple partners creating a strategy for water quality, natural flood management and ecological improvements
  • River Holme Connections: Invasive Non-native Species control, tree and hedge planting, supporting water quality and biodiversity improvements
  • Environmental Projects In Kirklees: Strategy produced for the 3 Valleys Nature Park
  • The Calder Rivers Trust: has entered a 5 year River Resilience partnership with Yorkshire Water to support a full-time catchment development project manager for the Calder Catchment Partnership.

Treesponsibility/ SOURCE

Partnership development plans

Partnership activities:

  • completing a systematic river restoration programme, focussing on geomorphological reconnection, habitats, water quality, and fish passage
  • forge greater links with landowners, farmers and users of the rural environment to offer advice, support, and opportunities for catchment restoration
  • developing a strong citizen science programme, engaging communities and identifying improvement areas
  • establishing stronger catchment partnership links to bring a more collaborative catchment based approach
  • creating a collaborative online platform for partners, providing mapping, data-championing existing work and steering future opportunities/ambition.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Wider water environment

    Connecting the Calder

    Reason for measure
    Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
    Delivery mechanism
    Potential future water industry programme
    Location
    Calder Upper Calder Lower Colne and Holme Calder Middle

  • Wider water environment

    Working with natural processes for climate resilience, flood resilience, and habitats across Calderdale, Kirklees, and Wakefield

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Calder Upper Calder Lower Colne and Holme Calder Middle

  • Wider water environment

    Growing Resilience and Farm and Rural Engagement

    Reason for measure
    Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
    Delivery mechanism
    Heritage Lottery Fund
    Location
    Calder Upper Calder Lower Colne and Holme Calder Middle

Catchment Partnership contributors

Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: