River Mole Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

Our vision is for a healthy and diverse catchment where all interested sectors, groups or individuals can contribute effectively towards restoring the natural environment. Ensuring the sustainable use of its essential resources, whilst preserving other valued heritage assets, to benefit both people and wildlife today and in the future.

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 waste water

    Regular discharges across the catchment wide from sewage treatment works and storm water outfalls

  • Physical modifications

    Highly fragmented catchment due to multiple barriers and impoundments which restrict fish passage and degrade habitat

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

    Frequent pollution events are an ongoing issue in urban areas

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    The River corridor links multiple designated sites, improving the health of the river is critical to allow movement of species in the catchment

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Habitat enhancements cannot achieve their maximum benefit as they are impacted by water quality issues, resulting from sewage and other pollutants

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Working together to enable collective effort in nature’s recovery will be essential to achieving success in this area

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Healthy soils help to reduce flood peaks, maintain flows during dry weather, reduce diffuse pollution, improve biodiversity and sequester carbon

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    We are increasingly seeing dry headwaters and flash flooding, we want a catchment with resilience is built into the overall ecological system

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Pollution from waste water

    Pressures from sewage treatment works and misconnections are high in the catchment, ultimately this determines the success of river health

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Invasive species have a significant impact, affecting natural processes, native species & recreational use of the river, with climate change more INNS will arrive

  • Physical modifications

    Too many structures along the catchment hindering fish and Eel passage, also modified channels causing over silting and reduced habitat quality, complex land ownership arrangements

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

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

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

Our vision is for a healthy and diverse catchment where all interested sectors, groups or individuals can contribute effectively towards restoring the natural environment. Ensuring the sustainable use of its essential resources, whilst preserving other valued heritage assets, to benefit both people and wildlife today and in the future. Since 2016, 10 multi agency restoration projects have been carried out across 4 separate waterbodies to restore natural processes, increase instream habitat and promote natural flood management (NFM) over 2.6 km of river. This also helped to increase liaison between agencies and the voluntary sector. There has been awareness raising through walks, talks, events and practical task days every year for the past 6 years during an annual Rivers Week to coincide with world rivers day. 20 volunteers trained in River fly monitoring and 200 surveys carried out across 33 different sites leading to one major pollution incident being resolved 21 volunteer river monitors trained in the RiverSearch citizen science project which mapped and monitored 30km of the river. Multiple Invasive Non-native Species workshops and task days delivered across the catchment leading to near eradication in the Leatherhead area. Mass water samples taken across 2 water bodies to isolate issues.

Partnership development plans

We would like to see co-ordinated planning at a landscape scale integrating environmental priorities into land management decisions, developments, water company investment, capital investment schemes and projects. Creating opportunities to tackle multiple issues whilst creating public benefits and harnessing new investment streams. Partnership aims to increase membership to include more community groups and engage a large and diverse audience.

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
    Mole

  • Confident

    Gatwick Stream

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Tilgate Brook and Gatwick Stream at Crawley

  • Confident

    Riverfly monitoring led by Surrey Wildlife Trust

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Voluntary initiatives
    Location
    Mole

  • Confident

    Lower Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Location
    Mole (Hersham to R. Thames conf at East Molesey)

  • Less certain

    Rye2Good Phase 3: Restore natural processes and connectivity through mitigation measures and mitigate flooding and pollution through wetland creation

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding
    Location
    Rye Brook at Ashtead

  • Less certain

    Pipp Brook Restoration Phase 2: Re-naturalise channel, improve fish passage, tackle point source issues, wetland creation, deliver NFM

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding
    Location
    Pipp Brook

  • Less certain

    Redhill Brook Restoration – Re-naturalise channel, improve fish passage

    Reason for measure
    Mitigate the impacts on ecology from physical modifications in modified waters
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding
    Location
    Mole Upper Trib

Catchment Partnership contributors

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