Lower Mersey Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

Our vision is of an urban catchment with a healthy water environment that everyone will be proud of, and which contributes fully to economic and social well-being of the local area. Our objectives to deliver our vision are:

  • developing an evidence base upon which informed decisions can be taken
  • ensuring cleaner and healthier waterbodies establishing integrated water management
  • supporting opportunities for using the water environment and engaging the community.

Van Rhijn

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

    Barriers restrict fish and eel passage with many long culverts that are expensive to remove

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Urban diffuse pollution from road run-off and misconnections are causing pollution

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Rural diffuse pollution from septic tanks and poor rural land management practice are polluting watercourses

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Aging Victorian infrastructure and misconnections in heavily populated areas, but investment for upgrading infrastructure is challenged

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Loss of biodiversity across the catchment requires a strategic catchment approach with partners including local authorities

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    River Mersey has been highlighted internationally as being a particular challenge for plastic pollution

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Need to address lack of awareness in the community to bring behaviour change, especially those difficult to engage and hard to convert

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    High proportion of urban areas in catchment presenting difficult challenges for biodiversity

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Extreme weather putting increased pressure on catchment systems e.g. drought and storm impacts impacting watercourses, water quality and flooding

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Physical modifications

    Barriers from industrial past severely restricting fish and eel passage and with many long culverts will still be a challenge in this catchment as they are expensive to remove

  • Pollution from waste water

    With a complex and increasingly densely populated urban area, the ambition for upgrading infrastructure plus addressing misconnections will continue to pose investment challenges

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    The high proportion of urban area in this catchment leads to urban diffuse pollution from various sources that will continue to present difficult challenges for biodiversity

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

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

Emerging challenges

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

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

We have developed an evidence-based approach to our work, for example: natural flood management (NFM) risk mapping with lead local flood authorities leading to NFM project implementation at Court Hey Park; scientific water quality measurements and citizen science 'river guardians'; monitoring natural capital mapping. Project delivery: restoration of the River Fender; leaky dams installed for NFM at Low Hall, Borsdane Woods and Rivacre Valley; partnership delivery under enforcement undertaking with Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust, Mersey Rivers Trust and Groundwork Trust as delivery partners. Carbon landscape partnership delivered a range of projects, such as: wetland creation; control of Invasive species at Low Hall Local Nature Reserve; NFM at Bickershaw. Successful feasibility study with Highways England; development work across multiple catchments; facilitated the Water theme for Liverpool Year of the Environment 2019, engaging wider stakeholders. Catchment plans distributed at the Environment Summit event in Liverpool. Litter awareness and plastic free Mersey projects; Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust surveys and habitat improvements; developing a fisheries strategy across multiple catchments. Using 'story maps' to utilise evidence, identify needs and prioritise. We also have a more robust focus on programme of measures and project development with joint bids.

Mersey Rivers Trust

Partnership development plans

Using additional data from natural capital mapping or drainage and waste water management plans to enable an even better evidence-base. Further develop 'story map' to plan local actions, taking advantage of future and alternative funding opportunities.

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
    Mersey Lower

  • Confident

    Improve water quality, habitat restoration and public engagement via the 'Speke to Spike' project

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    MERSEY

  • Confident

    River Guardian programme with local engagement and citizen science surveys in various localities across the catchment

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Grant giving trusts and businesses
    Location
    Mersey Lower

  • Confident

    Great Manchester Wetlands Land Manager Group, engage land-managers to influence catchment outcomes

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Current Rural Development Programme
    Location
    Glaze

  • Less certain

    Implement a range of nature based solutions to address urban diffuse pollution from highway outfalls

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Highways England Programme
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding is not secured yet
    Location
    Mersey Lower

  • Less certain

    Local nature recovery using habitat banking

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF)
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding applied for is not yet secured
    Location
    Sankey

  • Less certain

    Revive Rivacre Brook

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Reinstate the withdrawn WEIF funding for Phase 2 delivery of the project
    Location
    Rivacre Brook

  • Less certain

    Improve land management practices by delivery of capital interventions and farm engagement

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Barriers to delivery
    Not yet applied for funding
    Location
    Mersey Lower

  • Less certain

    Restoration of heavily modified waterbodies to increase longitudinal and lateral connectivity

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Not yet applied for funding
    Location
    Mersey Lower

  • Less certain

    Natural Flood Management alongside water quality improvements and habitat improvements

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding
    Location
    Mersey Lower

  • Wider water environment

    Litter and plastic awareness campaigns

    Reason for measure
    Removing plastics/litter from the water environment
    Delivery mechanism
    Other philanthropic/charitable/trust funds
    Location
    Mersey Upper Mersey Lower

  • Wider water environment

    Deliver operational catchment projects such as those in the Sankey Catchment Plan and via Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership on the Glaze

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Heritage Lottery Fund
    Location
    Mersey Lower

  • Wider water environment

    Fisheries Strategy for the Mersey River Basin

    Reason for measure
    Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
    Delivery mechanism
    Other philanthropic/charitable/trust funds
    Location
    Irwell Mersey Upper Mersey Lower

Catchment Partnership contributors

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