Dove Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

Our vision is to make the Dove catchment a great place for people and wildlife, now and in the future. We will do this by:

  • reversing species and habitat loss, through river restoration, restoring natural processes and managing the impacts of invasive non-native species
  • preventing diffuse and point source pollution of all types such as soil loss and miss-connections
  • improving ecological, economic and social issues around water management, flood/drought and their impact
  • encouraging adaption to the effects of climate change, and mitigate its affects where possible
  • engaging with people through education and one to one engagement to increase understanding on water management and improving access to rivers.

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

    Excess nutrients and agricultural chemicals change the natural balance of river life

  • Physical modifications

    Fish passage and natural processes are restricted by mostly redundant historical barriers and channel modifications

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Partnership activity on Signal Crayfish and Himalayan Balsam plus risk of other invasives

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Phosphates and soils still reaching the river from widespread farming resulting in high nutrient levels, lack of sufficient incentives for farmers

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    More support and resources needed for the regulatory bodies to protect and enforce nature conservation based designations and appropriate management

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Improved understanding of the public on how management of rivers and floodplains can support nature and enhance our well-being

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Lack of coordination to secure, protect and monitor impacts on non-designated habitats at a landscape and catchment scale

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Poor management and diversity of riparian and floodplain habitat increasing vulnerability to abstraction, drought and risk of flooding

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Poor habitat quality and surface water management in urban areas resulting in altering microclimates, stream geomorphology and groundwater recharge

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Pollution from a range of sources, in particular agriculture and point sources from rural areas continues to be an issue in the Dove, the riverine ecology is not what it could be

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Signal crayfish and Himalayan balsam continue to be an issue in areas of the Dove catchment, where coordination and wider understanding is required

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Rivers and floodplains are under pressure from floods and drought as climate change continues, it is a widespread issue; understanding and cooperation across sectors is required

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
  • Pollution from waste water

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Our successes:

  • 2 Landscape Partnership Schemes completed: South West Peak - Landscape at a Crossroads & Transforming the Trent Valley
  • ‘Upstream Thinking’: sustainable land management, removing invasive non-native species, creating new habitats, restoring wet heaths & bogs
  • ‘Letting the Dove Flow’ river restoration: re-naturalising river, improving habitat for fish and invertebrates, removing weirs, introducing woody debris
  • Churnet Valley farmers: brings farmers, foresters, land managers together to benefit the catchment
  • Tittesworth Farmers advice: working to improve soil management by sustainable use of chemicals to improve drinking water
  • community river restoration project at Quixall - community purchase of a meadow and restored to a wildlife haven
  • ‘Slowing the Flow’: 4 ha habitat created, 46 ha habitat restored, 7.7 km new or improved riparian zones, 9 woody debris projects, 5 communities better protected from flooding, 10 water courses improved water quality, 105 volunteers engaged, 9 annual events
  • Barbel study: angling community engagement, providing information to establish different year classes of fish; smaller fish being recorded in 2020; meeting in 2021 to engage with the angling community and set out study targets
  • Dovecliff Weir: weir removal improving biodiversity and fish passage through the Dove catchment: 16 fish species recorded
  • annual partnership meetings to share and learn about catchment issues, opportunities and activities.

Partnership development plans

In the future, we would like to see:

  • stronger, clearer governance with an increase in active partners working collaboratively
  • a wider range of projects and initiatives
  • more financial support for partners and network of organisations
  • informed communications both in and out of the partnership
  • resources developed to raise awareness of activities, challenges and opportunities
  • increased understanding of businesses, landowners, partners, public, issues and work to address them.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Endon natural flood management; farm interventions to store and slow water, trap pollution and create habitat

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Endon Bk

  • Confident

    Picknall Brook Habitat Improvement; enhancing the watercourse and corridor for biodiversity and natural processes

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Picknall Bk catchment (trib of Dove)

  • Confident

    Dove headwaters; creation, restoration and enhancement of nature to maintain and maximise outcomes

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Nature Recovery Network
    Location
    Dove from Source to River Manifold Churnet from Source to Meerbrook Manifold - source to conf R Dove Hamps from Source to R Manifold

  • Confident

    Natural Flood Defence; delivery of natural flood management to support conventional scheme in Marchington

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Location
    Marchington Brook catchment (trib of Dove)

  • Confident

    Tree planting on the lower River Dove

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Private Investment
    Location
    Dove - R Churnet to R Trent

  • Confident

    Tittesworth Catchment Officer

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    Churnet Rivers and Lakes

  • Wider water environment

    Develop demo farm to help navigate emerging funding opportunities to deliver sustainable farm management as a viable farm business

    Reason for measure
    Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
    Delivery mechanism
    Other philanthropic/charitable/trust funds
    Location
    Churnet Rivers and Lakes Dove Lower Rivers and Lakes

  • Wider water environment

    Removing barriers to fish passage or creating fish passes through river reaches designated for nature conservation

    Reason for measure
    Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Location
    Dove Upper Rivers and Lakes

  • Wider water environment

    Development and coordination of citizen science activity, specifically Riverfly, to encourage engagement with the natural world

    Reason for measure
    Connecting communities with nature
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Location
    Dove Upper Rivers and Lakes

Catchment Partnership contributors

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