Cornwall Catchment Partnership (Cornwall West and the Fal)

Catchment partnership vision

Working to secure a sustainable, clean water environment throughout Cornwall for people and wildlife. Our water environment is essential to our quality of life. We need to protect and enhance rivers and groundwater as systems which means thinking about them from source to shore and all the places in between. The Cornwall Catchment Partnership (CCP) is committed to working collaboratively with key partners and stakeholders on priority catchment issues, working across themes to deliver integrated catchment management. The Partnership acts as a focal point for wider strategic catchment based activity with the intention of encouraging the catchment-based approach (CaBA) in all appropriate areas of planning, development and resource management throughout Cornwall. The Partnership recognises the importance of empowering landowners and farmers and aligning funding to support delivery of nature recovery in Cornwall and to secure healthy river catchments, freshwater bodies and coastal waters.

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

    Sediment runoff and diffuse nutrient, bacterial and pesticide pollution is impacting freshwater, coastal and marine environments

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    More drought and flood events alongside abstraction and development pressures are affecting people and wildlife

  • Pollution from waste water

    With Cornwall's growing population and increase in tourism, wastewater discharges are impacting our rivers, bathing waters and shellfish waters

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Healthy fertile soils that are in nutrient balance provide multiple environmental benefits, particularly when restored on a catchment scale

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    Climate change is the single biggest risk facing our river catchments and urgent action is needed to both adapt and mitigate

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Storm overflows and issues with drainage systems can have negative impacts on the water environment for both communities and nature

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    A joined-up approach to nature recovery & making space for nature including farming incentives are crucial aspects of improving the water environment

  • Improved bathing waters (including inland)

    Cornwall is a popular holiday destination and the quality of both bathing and shellfish waters impacts public health, tourism and local industry

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Community engagement with nature delivers health and wellbeing benefits alongside greater protection and understanding of nature itself

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Agriculture is an important business sector in Cornwall, future climate change events will present a greater challenge to land management pressures on the water environment

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Climate Change is predicted to greatly reduce some seasonal low flows, further impacting existing water resource pressures and their dependent habitats

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Increased global temperatures are predicted to increase the threat of invasive species displacing native, iconic and protected species

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

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

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

  • The Long Rock Coastal Improvements Project has given Marazion Marsh a new lease of life. As the largest area of reed marsh in Cornwall, Marazion Marsh is designated as a Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest. Restricted freshwater input and siltation has been threatening the habitat and rare bird species. New structures have been installed to help control water levels within the marsh. Sediment, and targeted areas of reeds and old willow, have been removed to create open water channels.
  • Catchment Sensitive Farming has been working with landowners to reduce the input of sediment into the marsh through improved land management and nature-based solutions.
  • The Devon and Cornwall Soils Alliance (DCSA) is a great example of collaboration. DCSA a strategically important project targeting sediment run off and promoting good soil health, aiming to build and reinforce 'on farm' soil advisor capacity across the whole region.
  • The West Cornwall and Fal catchment has benefited from South West Water’s Upstream Thinking (UST) 2, a catchment management programme targeting the Cober, Drift and Falmouth reservoir catchments, where there are abstractions for drinking water supply. UST is designed to combat deterioration in soil, nutrient and water management in the farmed landscape, offering farm advice and grants to support improvements to farm infrastructure.
  • Green Ribs 1 successfully delivered a landscape scheme alongside the A30 in Cornwall. The project has installed new green infrastructure features to deliver natural flood management, wetland and woodland restoration and hedgerow and grassland creation, whilst connecting new and existing habitats.

Partnership development plans

Establish a strong partnership model and become recognised as the ‘go to’ forum, delivering a range of co-benefits with a continued focus on improving the water environment and drought and flood resilience. Cultivated through a collaborative approach, identifying funding streams to support integrated projects and delivery of multiple outcomes relating to the challenges of climate change, nature recovery and adaptation. Working in ways that engage and contribute to community health and wellbeing and broaden the diversity of our stakeholder 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
    Cornwall West and the Fal

  • Confident

    Upstream Thinking 3: working with farmers and landowners to improve water quality and benefit nature

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    College Reservoir Kennal Upper River Cober Newlyn River Drift Reservoir Argal Reservoir Stithians Reservoir

  • Confident

    Par Improvement Programme: linked to StARR, delivering habitat creation, fish passage and natural flood management

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Par River (Upper) Par River (Lower) Tywardreath Stream

  • Confident

    Hayle River Community Catchment Project

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Location
    Hayle HAYLE

  • Confident

    Green Ribs 2: delivering a catchment based approach alongside critical road infrastructure

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Highways England Programme
    Location
    Fal

  • Confident

    G7 Legacy Project for Nature Recovery: wetland restoration and woodland creation

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other Public funding
    Location
    Par River (Upper) Lower River Fal Bokiddick Stream Upper River Fal Crinnis River St Austell River Par River (Lower) Tywardreath Stream

  • Less certain

    Linking Truro Flood & Coastal Risk Strategy with aspirations for tree planting/wetland creation/natural flood management

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Barriers to delivery
    Project funding successfully secured
    Location
    Kenwyn Lower River Allen (Fal) Upper River Allen (Fal)

  • Less certain

    Making Space for Sand: an innovative approach to coastal management

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
    Barriers to delivery
    Successful funding application to Innovation Resilience Fund
    Location
    Cornwall West and the Fal

  • Less certain

    Tor to Shore: re-wilding project incorporating controlled beaver re-introduction

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    UK Shared Prosperity Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Successful funding application and application for beaver licence
    Location
    Par River (Upper) Bokiddick Stream

  • Less certain

    Fal Landscape Recovery: delivery of landscape-scale, multiple-benefit river restoration in the Fal catchment

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Landscape Recovery (ELMS)
    Barriers to delivery
    Successful funding application to Landscape Recovery (ELMs)
    Location
    Fal

  • Less certain

    Taking a whole-catchment approach to improve water quality in the Fal and Helford SAC and support oyster beds

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other Public funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Strong partnership approach supported by the Environment Agency
    Location
    Cober and Lizard Fal Carrick Roads Fal and Helford Coastal Helford Estuary

  • Less certain

    Citizen Science Initiative to improve community health and wellbeing through empowerment

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Strong partnership approach supported by the Environment Agency
    Location
    Cornwall West and the Fal

  • Wider water environment

    Championing Coastal Co-ordination (3Cs): enhance and strengthen coordination for coastal sustainability and resilience in Cornwall

    Reason for measure
    Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    Cornwall West and the Fal

  • Wider water environment

    Natural Flood Management skills programme: endorse and build sector capacity through training and education

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Cornwall West and the Fal

  • Wider water environment

    Deliver a catchment-based approach to support improved bathing and shellfish waters

    Reason for measure
    Improved bathing waters (including inland)
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    Cornwall West and the Fal

Catchment Partnership contributors

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