Wye Catchment Partnership
Catchment partnership vision
Our vision is to ensure a sustainable Wye catchment which supports ecological, economic and recreational diversity. A catchment in a healthy, near natural condition, with improved resilience to climate change, flooding and pollution. The partnership aims to bring together the local community, organisations and businesses with a shared common goal of protecting and enhancing our rivers, landscape, habitats and wildlife.
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
Nutrient loading and runoff from rural land management is one of the major contributors to excessive phosphate levels in the catchment
Pollution from waste water
Excessive levels of nutrients from waste water are one of the major influences on water quality
Changes to the natural flow and water levels
Climate change causes more extreme high and low flows, increasing the frequency of flooding and drought events
Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership
Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
Improving soil health to minimise runoff, phosphate loading and reduce flood risk
Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
Habitat management and de-fragmentation from source to sea
Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
Natural flood management measures to reduce flood risk downstream
Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents
Use of nature-base solutions to minimise nutrient loading impact on water quality
Connecting communities with nature
Engaging citizen science and volunteer programmes
Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Joined-up catchment wide approach
Future challenges predicted by partnership
Invasive Non-native Species
Threat from existing invasive non-native species, such as American Signal Crayfish and Himalayan balsam, as well as climate change posing a risk of new INNS
Pollution from agriculture and rural areas
Sediment and nutrient runoff from agriculture and rural land management is one of the major contributors to excessive phosphate levels in the catchment
Changes to the natural flow and water levels
Climate change causes more extreme high and low flows, increasing the frequency of flooding and drought events
Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency
Future challenges in 2050
- Invasive Non-native Species
- Physical Modifications
- Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
Emerging challenges
- Physical Modifications
- Pollution from Agriculture and Rural Areas
- Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021
Farm Herefordshire is made up of a range of organisations that have formed a partnership to support farming, including The Wye and Usk Foundation, AHDB, CLA, NFU, Herefordshire Rural Hub, Catchment Sensitive Farming, Environment Agency and many more - all of whom champion the same key values to promote profitable farming, healthy soils and clean water. The initiative is a key tool for farmer engagement promoting local events, sign-posting advice and sharing video footage of good farm practice from farmers to encourage peer to peer learning. The excessive levels of phosphate impacting on the river has been a regular focus for partnership meetings and will continue to foster the development of novel approaches to reducing phosphate losses from agriculture. Working with the supply chain- The Wye catchment was selected as part of a novel approach to support delivery of collective action in the supply chain through the Courtauld 2030 initiative. In 2019 the Wye-Agri Food Partnership was established to communicate the opportunities this approach provides to local suppliers, growers and processors. The group also provides support to a wide range of businesses and growers that have engaged to positively influence their impact on water in the Wye catchment. Citizen Science engagement- Several community driven citizen science groups have developed across the Wye catchment seeing an increase in water quality monitoring. Additional data collections from these groups supports a better understanding of the issues that are affecting the local environment and promotes awareness of river health.
Partnership development plans
The partnership will continue to deliver improvements in the catchment through collaborative working, ensuring resources and effort is used in the most efficient manner. The partnership seeks to follow the principle of utilising nature based solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on our water environment. In order to ensure the quantity and timely delivery of interventions required, significant additional funding will be needed to complete proactive interventions.
Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027
Confident
Reduction of phosphate loading from major sewage treatment works
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage point source discharges
- Delivery mechanism
- Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
- Location
- Wye MC
Confident
Continue to tackle Invasive Non-native Species plants negatively impacting on the biodiversity of our rivers
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage invasive non-native species
- Delivery mechanism
- Current Rural Development Programme
- Location
- Wye MC
Confident
Mitigate against extreme weather events causing flooding to rural communities
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage regulated flows
- Delivery mechanism
- EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
- Location
- Wye MC
Less certain
Reduce diffuse pollution from agricultural sources to bring SAC in to compliance with targets
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
- Barriers to delivery
- Scale, scope and level of ambition within E.L.M scheme and wider supply chain
- Location
- Wye MC
Less certain
Reduction of phosphate loading from rural sewage treatment works
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
- Delivery mechanism
- Potential future water industry programme
- Barriers to delivery
- Opportunities to develop alternative funding streams such as nutrient trading
- Location
- Wye MC
Less certain
Improve condition and connectivity of a wide range of habitat and species at a landscape scale
- Reason for measure
- Manage modified habitats
- Delivery mechanism
- Nature Recovery Network
- Barriers to delivery
- Scale and scope and level of ambition within Nature Recovery Network approach
- Location
- Wye MC
Less certain
Mitigate against extreme weather events causing flooding and droughts
- Reason for measure
- Control or manage abstractions
- Delivery mechanism
- EA Flood/coastal risk management programme
- Barriers to delivery
- Ability to think and deliver cross border solutions
- Location
- Wye MC
Wider water environment
Restoring catchment scale healthy soils via sustainable land management practices to support nutrient, carbon, and water cycles
- Reason for measure
- Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
- Delivery mechanism
- Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
- Location
- Wye OC
Wider water environment
Management and de-fragmentation of habitat at catchment scale to promote nature recovery and replace biodiversity loss with biodiversity net gain
- Reason for measure
- Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity
- Delivery mechanism
- None identified
- Location
- Arrow Lugg and Frome
Wider water environment
Utilising natural processes and nature based solutions including natural flood management measures to slow the flow
- Reason for measure
- Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
- Delivery mechanism
- None identified
- Location
- Arrow Lugg and Frome
Catchment Partnership contributors
Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: