Isle of Wight

Catchment partnership vision

To improve the quality of the Isle of Wight’s water environment and to engage more local people into understanding, protecting, enhancing and enjoying our water-courses

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

    Diffuse rural pollution causing elevated phosphate in rivers and nitrate levels in the Solent Special Protection Area

  • Physical modifications

    Fish passage severely restricted, salt marshes eroding, flood plains not fully functioning

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Predominantly Himalayan balsam, but also Japanese knotweed and other aquatics

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Tackling storm events is achievable in short timespan, good community support and Water Company pilot project

  • Improved shellfish waters

    Improving shellfish waters also tackles other issues, all which have a detrimental effect on a Special Protection Area

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Issues regarding growth, water supply and waste water disposal are all closely interlinked and as an Island we already have insufficient resources

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Engaging communities is key to getting community buy-in to projects, also need to diversify and increase the people we are engaging with

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Soils are key to retaining water and reducing rural diffuse pollution which affects local harbours and rivers

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    Conserving and creating connected habitats will be essential for threatened species as development pressures increase

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Water supply is already stressed and insufficient for the Island, future growth and climate change will make this worse

  • Pollution from waste water

    Additional growth will stress infrastructure

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Additional growth will stress infrastructure

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Pollution from Towns Cities and Transport

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

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) have worked in the Eastern Yar catchment completing works on its estate and on land in private ownership. Additionally, it increased its land holding, acquiring land at Morton Marsh, Parsonage Farm, Hill Heath, Lower Knighton and Alverstone Mead, amounting to 118 hectares (292 acres) in HIWWT management. HIWWT are now restoring habitats, improving species diversity and improving the management of the river system. This work was complemented by Catchment Sensitive Farming advice and forming a 'farm cluster' who have delivered climate adaptation projects. Wroxall Stream, within the same catchment, is classed as ’failing’ due to the composition of aquatic plants and high levels of phosphates. Invasive Non-native species are a contributing factor to the failure, and there are issues with high levels of nitrogen accumulating in Bembridge Harbour. Natural Enterprise co-ordinated a suite of projects to arrest the flow of sediment containing phosphate and nitrate into the watercourse. These included wetland creation and tree planting on steep adjacent slopes. The Lukely Brook is adversely affected by water abstraction, which is crucial to the Island's insufficient water supply and it has been heavily modified over the centuries. Southern Water have delivered several interventions increasing resilience to low flows and improving fish passage.

Partnership development plans

We would like to strengthen our co-ordination with and support of coastal partners. We wish to increase our capacity for water quality monitoring and evaluation. We would like to achieve financial stability and diversify our engagement.

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
    Isle of Wight Rivers

  • Confident

    Reintroducing natural processes to Eastern Yar, Alverstone Marshes SSSI and other wetlands within catchment

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Eastern Yar (Lower)

  • Confident

    Adopting catchment sensitive farming practices throughout the Isle of Wight catchment

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Eastern Yar (Upper) Medina Wroxall Stream Eastern Yar (Lower) Caul Bourne

  • Confident

    Saltmarsh restoration projects and investigations

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    MEDINA WESTERN YAR

  • Confident

    Working with local coastal partnerships and the MMO to improve integration between catchment and coastal management

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    EU funding
    Location
    Isle of Wight TraC

  • Confident

    Managing invasive species - predominantly Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and Crassula helmsii

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage invasive non-native species
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Eastern Yar (Upper) Medina Wroxall Stream Eastern Yar (Lower)

  • Less certain

    Restoring Freshwater Marshes SSSI

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Absence of funding
    Location
    WESTERN YAR

  • Less certain

    Wroxall Stream - improving water quality and removing barriers to migrating fish

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Absence of funding
    Location
    Wroxall Stream

  • Less certain

    Protecting the Gunville Stream from development pressures

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Absence of funding
    Location
    Lukely Brook

  • Less certain

    Removing fish impoundments throughout Newport Rivers

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Absence of funding, needs more resource to support
    Location
    Medina Lukely Brook

  • Less certain

    Reintroducing natural processes and fish passage on the Eastern Yar at Alverstone Mill

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Absence of funding, needs landowner consent
    Location
    Eastern Yar (Lower)

  • Wider water environment

    Engage local people and businesses in storm water management

    Reason for measure
    Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    Blackbridge Brook WOOTTON CREEK

  • Wider water environment

    Work with landowners and parish councils to identify measures to reduce point and diffuse pollution

    Reason for measure
    Improved shellfish waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Caul Bourne NEWTOWN RIVER

  • Wider water environment

    Work with landowners, planners and developers to protect watercourse from effects of development

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Private Investment
    Location
    Lukely Brook

Catchment Partnership contributors

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