Irwell Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

Partnership's Vision is to make a healthy water environment a positive part of people’s daily lives. To achieve this vision we will endeavour to:

  • ensure land is used and managed sustainably to benefit water environments
  • ensure our water environments are healthy and rich in wildlife
  • provide more attractive and accessible water environments for people to enjoy
  • work collaboratively to share information and develop partnerships
  • ensure relevant activities are coordinated and designed to achieve multiple benefits for the environment
  • learn from others with similar experience and share our experiences.

Mike Beard, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

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

    The Irwell catchment was at the heart of the industrial revolution resulting in most rivers being heavily modified

  • Pollution from waste water

    The large, ever growing population of Greater Manchester puts significant pressure on sewerage infrastructure

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    The legacy of contaminated land, complex drainage systems and road networks make the sources of pollution wide-ranging

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Frequent and extreme rainfall leading to flooding will worsen, partnership working to develop nature-based solutions is a priority in our catchment

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Opportunity to increase environmental participation and promote local ownership, encouraging health and wellbeing especially in deprived communities

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    To address the biodiversity crisis, it is important to have joined up strategies for nature delivered through an integrated partnership approach

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Incidents likely to increase with climate change, better understanding of incidents will help develop solutions and maximise water company investment

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    The impacts on nature of plastic pollution have caused widespread concern but provide an opportunity for engagement to tackle the problem

  • Achieving Net Zero including supporting a move to a low carbon economy

    The partnership supports commitments to achieving net zero using river corridors for green travel, carbon offsetting and environmental resilience

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Lack of investment in INNS control has seen the proliferation of invasive plant species throughout the Irwell Catchment, this is likely to worsen due to climate change

  • Pollution from waste water

    In the face of climate change and population growth, we anticipate an increasing challenge in managing pollution from waste water

  • Physical modifications

    This is currently a major issue in the catchment which is expensive and technically challenging to remediate, future growth and development we anticipate will worsen it

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport
  • Pollution from waste water

Emerging challenges

  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from waste water
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Since 2016 the Irwell Catchment Partnership has:

  • improved or investigated 38 barriers to fish migration
  • enhanced or protected 72.7km of river
  • improved 243ha of habitat
  • implemented £2,728,026 of project activity
  • received £314,984 of in-kind value
  • engaged over 3000 people.Activity highlights include:
  • engaging farmers through facilitation activities
  • delivering environmental measures to benefit water quality, flood risk and biodiversity
  • restoration of moorland and peat in the upper catchment
  • creating a range of scalable, investment-ready sustainable drainage systems and urban green infrastructure demonstration and learning projects
  • improving understanding of the catchment by creating a catchment story map and online interactive evidence base
  • engaging citizen scientists in recording and reporting on water quality, aquatic ecology and terrestrial biodiversity
  • analysing spatial data to support targeting of measures
  • undertaking feasibility studies and options appraisals
  • removed / modified a number of weir structures
  • reducing physical modifications
  • completion of projects which work with natural processes
  • launched sub-catchment strategic restoration projects in the Croal, Roch, Irwell, Irk and Medlock
  • Involvement in Environment Land Management local nature recovery Test and Trial on behalf of Defra.Partners have taken the opportunity to secure funding through a number of recent funding streams, including:
  • Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF)
  • Green Recovery Challenge Fund
  • Water Environment Grant
  • Water Environment Investment Fund (WEIF)
  • Ofwat Innovation Fund

Partnership development plans

We will pursue the ambitions of our Catchment Plan and continue to develop our portfolio of collaborative, data-driven, investment-ready, multi-benefit projects offering high impact and value for money. The Catchment Partnership will take on board new and evolving strategies, and policies such as Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) and biodiversity net gain. We will explore more diverse funding streams such as Environment Land Management Schemes (ELM) to deliver more environmental projects. We will seek to include a more representative range of stakeholders and will look at our changing demographic within the catchment. We will continue to build our skills and knowledge of certain subjects such as Natural Capital and innovative finance.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Removal of Scotland Road Weir as part of the Manchester Victoria North development

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Developer funded
    Location
    Irk (Wince to Irwell)

  • 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
    Irwell

  • Confident

    Delivery of river Bawin planning mitigation measures associated with Rochdale Littleborough Flood Alleviation Scheme

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    EA asset capital investment
    Location
    Roch (Source to Spodden) Roch (Spodden to Irwell)

  • Confident

    Delivery of Natural Flood Management schemes in the Upper Irwell, Radcliffe and Redvales Flood Alleviation Scheme

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Location
    Irwell (Rossendale STW to Roch)

  • Less certain

    Use data and work with stakeholders to develop and implement actions addressing catchment management of phosphate

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Green Recovery Challenge Fund/Challenge Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Availability and analysis of relevant data about Phosphate, partner buy-in, funding
    Location
    Irwell

  • Less certain

    Develop and undertake strategic action to locate and control invasive species across the catchment

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage invasive non-native species
    Delivery mechanism
    EU funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Increased regulation and enforcement, strategic coordinated approach, landowner buy-in, funding
    Location
    Irwell

  • Less certain

    Remove barriers to fish migration on the Lower Irwell, Croal, Irk, and Roch sub-catchments

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Methodology requires specialist knowledge, asset owners permission, suitable funding streams
    Location
    Irk (Sourtce to Wince Brook) Croal (including Blackshaw Brook) Bradshaw Brook Eagley Brook Irwell (Roch to Croal) Irwell (Croal to Irk) Roch (Spodden to Irwell) Tonge Irk (Wince to Irwell)

  • Less certain

    Restore habitats & natural processes in Upper Catchment to reduce run-off and improve flood resilience & biodiversity

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Barriers to delivery
    Mapping, prioritizing, identifying landowners, developing landowner agreements, funding
    Location
    Croal Irwell

  • Less certain

    Implement green infrastructure solutions, like sustainable urban draining systems to address urban runoff and deliver complementary multi-benefits

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Highways England Programme
    Barriers to delivery
    Better understanding outfall impacts, engagement with Highways England needs to be improved
    Location
    Irwell

  • Less certain

    Engage with land owners, businesses and community groups to identify and deliver environmental improvements

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding, keep abreast of evolving policy, engage stakeholders, secure community support
    Location
    Irwell

  • Wider water environment

    Delivery of natural flood management schemes

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Developer funded
    Location
    Irwell

  • Wider water environment

    Catchment management of INNS

    Reason for measure
    Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Irwell

  • Wider water environment

    Supporting volunteers to get involved in riverside conservation work

    Reason for measure
    Connecting communities with nature
    Delivery mechanism
    Other Public funding
    Location
    Irwell

Catchment Partnership contributors

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