Our Water Roadmap project in Norfolk and the Cam and Ely Ouse (Norfolk and CamEO) catchments is delivered by Norfolk Rivers Trust in partnership with a range of food & agricultural businesses. These catchments are situated in the centre of the Anglian River Basin District, and are key sourcing areas for pig and poultry production, potatoes, vegetable & salad crops as well as cereals (wheat, barley, and oats), oil seeds and sugar beet.
The issues
Diffuse pollution from agriculture has been identified as one of the most significant factors contributing to poor ecological health in the region’s rivers – which are internationally recognised for their rare chalk stream habitats and associated species. Prolonged wet weather over winter is causing high soil loss and water pollution. Future water availability pressures in this area are also well-known.
With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns anticipated, this project is looking to develop solutions to help businesses and the environment become more resilient. This includes using targeted farm support to deliver practical on-farm measures that improve water retention, reduce runoff, protect soils, enhance biodiversity, and improve the resilience of the surrounding water environment.
Read about WRAP CEO Harriet Lamb’s visit to the Norfolk and CamEO project
What action are we taking?
- Showcasing regenerative farming in action: new best practice guidance for potato growers, sugar beet growers, and for improving soil stability and sustainability under pigs has been produced in conjunction with key business partners.
- Developing a new project on sustainable rotations in partnership WWF, Cranswick, Tesco, Natural England, Hutchinsons, and Norfolk Rivers Trust.
- Conducting an outdoor pig trial, comparing grass leys and stocking methods to look at the benefits for soil and water. This is in collaboration with Norfolk Rivers Trust, Anglian Water, LSB pigs, AHDB Pork and Kings Seed.
What impact are we having?
- Around 50 businesses and other key stakeholders in the region are now engaged in the project, together reaching more than 5500 farmers with targeted messaging.
- Six knowledge exchange events were provided for growers and land managers on subjects such as soil management, rotational cropping and cultivations, undersowing maize, outdoor pig management and Natural Flood Management.
- Interventions have been implemented across nearly 800 hectares (ha) of land, including undersowing maize, cover crops, cultivation changes, buffer strip creation, tree and hedge planting, and installation of 35 silt traps/wetlands to prevent soil loss into the rivers and create new habitats to improve biodiversity.
- 19 ha of Species Rich grassland has been created in the Broadland catchment through the WWF Botanica by Airwick Partnership and delivered through Norfolk Rivers Trust.
- Through these actions more than 2 billion litres of water have been replenished back to nature since July 2018.
What are our future plans?
- Continuing to offer Water Sensitive Farming advice and interventions across the Broadland, CamEO and North Norfolk Catchments.
- Working with Water Resources East and the Norfolk Water Strategy Programme to plan and provide project opportunities to the Norfolk Water Fund to look at collaborative funding models for larger scale investment.
- Continuation of the outdoor pig trial to gain further data and knowledge on green covers.
- Further knowledge exchange events.
- Working with potato and roots growers to investigate new approaches that benefit soil and water.
“We operate in one of the driest and fastest-growing areas of the UK, with increasing environmental pressures on water availability and raw water quality. The company is committed to ensuring a secure reliable supply of high quality water into the future, whilst providing customers excellent customer service and fair bills. We recognise that to achieve our outcomes with these pressures we need to continue to work in partnership with many stakeholders to ensure our operations remain environmentally sustainable into the future, and in order to realise multiple benefits from collaborative working.”
For more information visit the Cam & Ely Ouse Catchment Partnership website and the Norfolk Rivers Trust website