Worcestershire Middle Severn Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

The Worcestershire Middle Severn (WMS) catchment is diverse in habitat, land use and demographic and brings a diverse suite of issues. This catchment partnership is reaffirming our priorities based on data and evidence collaborating with our water environment user groups. The partnership is committed to engaging with a much wider range of stakeholders leading to the development of a landscape scale restoration built around people and public goods delivery. We are working together to build a resilient partnership and a legacy focused on a better water environment for all.

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

    The catchment is largely rural with a focus on agriculture; the soil, sediment and water flows need to be addressed

  • Physical modifications

    Intensively farmed catchment and historic modifications result in disconnected habitat and unbalanced ecological systems

  • Pollution from waste water

    Urban settlements and point source pollution causes ecology failures likely to increase with more development, misconnections and sewage overflows

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Nature recovery is an essential large scale initiative to support biodiversity and river health, especially designated protected areas

  • Connecting communities with nature

    Community engagement and education is needed to raise the profile of the natural environment

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    Water industry activity needs to be conducted in a way that does not negatively impact the environment

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    The transfer of nutrients and sediments flow needs to be managed at a catchment scale to prevent deterioration to river system processes

  • Removing plastics/litter from the water environment

    Many local groups in the catchment already focus on plastic and litter removal

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

  • Pollution from towns, cities and transport

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Pollution from waste water

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

  • Unlocking the Severn is a landscape-scale project aiming to bring back the twaite shad to its breeding reaches by removing barriers in the largest river restoration project of its kind in Europe. Citizen science and engagement are at the heart of the project to create a legacy for the future.
  • Salmon in the Stour is a project aiming to improve the River Stour and its tributaries for wildlife and people by removing barriers to fish movement, provide habitats for threatened species, re-naturalise artificial banks, tackle the spread of invasive species, identify and address sources of pollution, improve access for people and celebrate the watercourses’ history and heritage.
  • The Worcestershire natural flood management (NFM) project is one of 24 catchment scale projects funded by the recent £15m Defra allocation for NFM projects in England. The Worcestershire project has been allocated £500,000 due for completing by March 2021. The project works with land managers and community groups to increase attenuation, infiltration and physical barriers in the Dowles, Barbourne and Cotswold Escarpment sub catchments.
  • Natural Networks is a grant funding scheme offering baseline habitat appraisal, land management advice and 45% match funding to community groups and businesses in Worcestershire. This is creating and enhancing over 45 hectares of habitat connecting urban and semi urban landscapes. Salmon in the Stour is a successful partnership project improving water quality by managing misconnections, improving fish passage by removing barriers and engaging with community groups through educational outreach to restore a heavily modified catchment.

Brian Taylor

Partnership development plans

We aim to expand the membership of this group, representing local organisations and communities and improving developing and completing joint projects. Sharing knowledge and skills within the group and into the communities we serve. Developing and completing multiple year catchment scale projects, such as Salmon in the Stour, with a range of partners and funding streams to secure long term sustainability of funding and completing projects. By holding site visits as part of the partnership meetings we hope to continue to make available opportunities for information exchange and best practice.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Less certain

    Developing a pilot project reconnecting and enhancing floodplain meadows, increasing landscape connectivity

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding
    Location
    Avon Warwickshire - Jurassic Limestones Cotswold Edge North Severn River Worcestershire

  • Less certain

    Creating a holistic stakeholder base to build a legacy based on the local water environment

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding and resources on longer term than annually
    Location
    Severn Middle Worcestershire Avon Warwickshire

  • Less certain

    Addressing urban diffuse and point source pollution by mapping and rectifying misconnections

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Secure funding and need to engage with water suppliers and deliver together
    Location
    Stour Upper Worcestershire Rivers and Lakes Avon Warwickshire - Permo-Triassic Sandstone Bromsgove South

  • Less certain

    Increase engagement with the water environment and its users utilising local heritage and natural capital

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage urban diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Additional long term resources to provide continued engagement and slow growth of this group
    Location
    Severn River Worcestershire

  • Wider water environment

    Take action for nature recovery using nature-based solutions to address issues like flooding, climate change mitigation and adaptation

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

  • Wider water environment

    Raising awareness and local understanding of issues that face watercourses, especially in the urban areas of the catchment

    Reason for measure
    Connecting communities with nature
    Delivery mechanism
    Other Public funding
    Location
    Severn Middle Worcestershire

  • Wider water environment

    Working in partnership with organisations and water companies to face the challenges of sewage discharges

    Reason for measure
    Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    Severn Middle Worcestershire

Catchment Partnership contributors

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