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|Information=''Measures in the Cherwell catchment''
 
Catchment partnerships: The Cherwell and Ray catchment partnership is hosted by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and consists of the Environment Agency, Natural England, Cherwell District Council, Banbury Town Council, Thames Water, the RSPB, Upper Thames Fisheries Consultative, and the National Farmers' Union (NFU).
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment, affecting both surface water and groundwater, are diffuse pollution from agricultural run-off, pollution from waste-water (including from sewage treatment works) and heavily modified channels.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 
* Cherwell: A project focusing on restoring a more natural river channel and fish passage through Spiceball Country Park in Banbury, a well-used public amenity, will result in improvements in the status of fish, invertebrates, macrophytes and sediment in the River Cherwell by 2021. It will also engage with local communities to raise awareness about sustainability, water quality and biodiversity.
* Oxon Ray: A project to implement measures described following a walkover survey will reduce diffuse pollution and sediment input from agriculture.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
* Cherwell: Action on the River Cherwell to create more backwaters between Banbury and Oxford, involving landowners, BBOWT and community groups. This will re-naturalise the river corridor, attenuate water flow and provide habitat for fish and invertebrate species. (If £100,000, one backwater; if more funding available then more sites will become possible).
* Oxon Ray: Initiate landowner engagement and advisory programme similar to Catchment Sensitive Farming in the Ray catchment. This will reduce agricultural diffuse pollution and increase resilience to flooding events.
*Cherwell: Action on River Cherwell to monitor and quantify abstraction issues with the Oxford Canal.
Additional measures with £1 million per year (as above plus the following):
* Cherwell: Major infiltration project in the catchment, with involvement of Thames Water and the NFU, involving landscape interventions designed to increase surface water infiltration, increase water storage capacity and attenuate overland flow during peak rainfall events (with potential benefits for flood alleviation). This will help to resolve rural diffuse pollution and phosphate failures.
* Oxon Ray: Major flood plain meadow restoration projects along the River Ray, re-connecting the flood plain and re-instating natural river features and riparian habitat. This will improve water quality and nutrient cycling, increase habitat for fish and invertebrates, provide ecosystem services and benefits for leisure, education and public access.
 
 
''Measures in the Colne catchment''
 
Catchment partnership: The Colne Catchment Action Network (ColneCAN) core group includes Affinity Water, Thames Water, Colne Valley Fisheries Consultative, Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Hertfordshire County Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Chilterns Conservation Board, Colne Valley Park, River Chess Association and the Environment Agency. The ColneCAN is working with many others to address the challenges in the catchment, an area of serious water stress and significant growth demands.
Priority issues include changes to natural level and flow of water, pollution from waste water, transport infrastructure and rural areas, and the extent of physical modifications such as weirs and concrete channels.
 
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 
To support ambitious abstraction reductions, Affinity Water will invest over £2,000,000 to improve river morphology and habitat, and undertake other improvements with local people and landowners. The work, together with Environment Agency investment of £190,000 in 2015/16 (raised from abstraction licence fees), will improve river function and resilience, which will secure public benefits and contribute to improved status of the Misbourne, Ver and Gade chalk rivers in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
 
With a £10,000 contribution from the Box Moor Trust (the riparian landowner), the partnership is supporting a £54,000 project to restore and enhance flood plain connectivity and river function of a 1km stretch of the river Bulbourne in Hertfordshire.
 
Future aims
 
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines the projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
 
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
*Devise and implement phase 2 of the river Bulbourne restoration project to achieve a further 1km of improved water body.
*Support a programme to produce or update flood modelling for priority water bodies in the catchment, in order to support and facilitate decision making for river restoration projects.
*Establish a new programme, 'Weir today Gone tomorrow' to focus on removal or adaptation of modifications. Addressing a minimum of 3 barriers per year and opening up a minimum of 2km of impacted river per year to contribute to status/element level improvements.
 
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
* Lead ‘Catching the Colne’, a programme to increase engagement and enjoyment of key sites along the Colne Valley, (River Colne and tributaries) improve access for local communities, and implement a minimum of 10km of river and riparian improvement per year.
* Establish and co-lead a national chalk streams restoration and stewardship programme to build capability, encourage support and secure funding for additional improvements to UK chalk streams. Establish a chalk streams discovery centre on the River Chess to showcase and celebrate the water environment, and to secure interest and commitment towards chalk stream stewardship and improvement.
 
Further information on the partnership is available at: http://www.colnecan.org.uk/.
 
''Measures in the Cotswold catchment''
 
Catchment partnerships:
Evenlode – hosted by Wild Oxfordshire with a group that includes the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Forestry Commission, West Oxfordshire District Council, Atkins, The Cotswolds Fly Fishers, Cotswolds Rivers Trust, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), Wychwood Project, Oxford University and the Sylva Foundation.
 
Windrush – hosted by BBOWT and consists of a similar mix of statutory organisations, non-government organisations, councils and local interest groups such as the Evenlode.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in both catchments, affecting both surface water and groundwater, are diffuse pollution from agricultural run-off, point source pollution and poor habitat.
 
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 
 Evenlode - tackling rural diffuse pollution and impoundments to improve the status of fish, sediments and phosphate in the River Glyme. Engage in community-based actions to benefit water quality and biodiversity. 25% of the £100,000 project fund comes from government grant in aid. A Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme is being developed for a landscape-scale infiltration project.
 
 Windrush - preventing rural diffuse pollution at source (for example, cattle poaching) and repairing associated bankside damage in the upper catchment will result in improvements in the status of fish, sediments and phosphate. A landscape-scale flood plain recovery project and a wetland creation project are being developed.
Future aims
 
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
*Evenlode - to mitigate remaining impoundments and re-naturalise the Glyme from Stratford Bridge to Glympton involving the local authority, landowners and community groups. This will join up restored areas and tackle rural diffuse pollution.
*Evenlode - address barriers to fish passage and create in-channel habitat enhancements at Charlbury. This will help resolve failures in fish, invertebrate and macrophyte populations and improve amenity and recreational value.
*Windrush - a fish passage and wetland creation project at the confluence of Great Brook and Thames; this will create a backwater refuge for fish and invertebrates and provide some additional flood storage capacity.
*Windrush - further action to address rural diffuse pollution and channel damage.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
*Evenlode - infiltration project, involving strategic woodland planting and other landscape interventions to attenuate overland flow during peak rainfall events (with potential benefits for flood alleviation and climate change resilience). It will tackle rural diffuse pollution and phosphate failures, and contribute to Biodiversity 2020 targets. It is part of a wider partnership project across the Upper Thames tributaries.
*Windrush - major project to restore degraded ecosystems along the flood plain of the Thames from source to Oxford. It would target connectivity of riparian and aquatic habitats and contribute to improving flood management, water quality, soil quality and recreation. It would seek to establish more integrated environmental governance across the Upper Thames and promote further academic research.
Further information on the Windrush partnership is available at: mailto:info@bbowt.org.uk and for the Evenlode: mailto:hilary@wildoxfordshire.org.uk.
 
''Measures in the Darent catchment''
Catchment partnership
The Darent and Cray are co-hosted by the North West Kent Countryside Partnership (NWKCP) and the South East Rivers Trust (SERT). There are 2 Catchment Improvement Partnerships, one for the Darent and one for the Cray. Members of these include, Dartford Borough Council, Sevenoaks District Council, the London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley, Westerham Town Council, Farningham Parish Council, Kent Wildlife Trust, Thames21, the Environment Agency, Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the National Farmers' Union, Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Darent River Preservation Society, Dartford and District Angling Preservation Society, Kent Fisheries Consultative Association, Darent Valley Consortium, Darent and Cray Valley Catchment Consultative, West Kent Cycle Touring Club, the Darent Valley Trout Fishery, the Kent Fisheries Consultative Association and the Darent and Cray Catchment Consultative.
The priority issues identified in the catchment are diffuse pollution, improve modified physical habitats, and invasive non-native species (INNS).
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 
 Thames21 River Keeper team will continue to provide community engagement and educational activities, which raise awareness of the importance of the Cray, its habitats and ecology. They will deliver habitat improvements within the river. Thames21 provides over £30,000 to the catchment per year.
 
 NWKCP and SERT are working together on a £41,000 project to improve fish passage on the upper Darent. The creation of a bypass channel around a large structure will reconnect over 1.5km of the river near Sundridge.
 
 Angling clubs will continue to provide habitat improvements to the river and lakes. Projects include reduction of shading, creation of low flow channels, pool and riffle features, artificial margins, and monitoring of invertebrates and water levels within the river. This voluntary work contributes over £20,000 to the catchment each year.
Future aims
 
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Expansion of the INNS control programme focusing on both flora and fauna. Increasing the survey areas, treatments, provide training and develop a volunteer surveyor programme and providing an awareness raising campaign.
 Development of Ecosystems Services projects to improve aquifer recharge.
 Investigation and project development to reduce impacts of physical modifications such as the weirs at Hawley and Hall Place.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Improve opportunities for fish passage on large structures in the river and provision of extensive channel restoration.
 Implement the Marlborough Park Master Plan, which includes reinstating meanders of the River Shuttle, re-profiling of the river banks and removal of hard engineering.
 Reconnection of flood plain meadows to the river at Eynsford, working with local landowners to develop traditional grazing regimes and habitat management for the benefit of local wildlife and communities.
Further information on the partnership is available at: www.nwkcp.org/darent-and-cray-catchments.
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 5
Measures in the Gloucestershire and the Vale catchment
Catchment partnerships:
Upper Thames: The partnership is hosted by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and includes the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) and a broad and inclusive partnership made up of 210 members covering public, private and third sector organisations with an interest in the catchment.
Ock: The partnership is hosted by the Freshwater Habitats Trust and includes the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Forestry Commission, Vale of White Horse District Council, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, Abingdon Naturalist Society, Ock Valley Flood Group, South Abingdon Flood Action Group, Upper Thames Fisheries Consultative, Oxford University and 3 independent expert ecologists.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in both catchments, affecting both surface water and groundwater, are rural diffuse pollution, point source pollution and poor habitat.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Upper Thames: The Water with Integrated Local Delivery (WILD - http://www.fwagsw.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/) project works with local communities, farmers and environmental groups to improve water quality, reduce flood risk and enhance biodiversity.
 Ock: An in-channel, riparian and flood plain restoration project to improve the status of invertebrates in the Sandford Brook by 2021. Located in the town of Abingdon, it will also increase public access, provide recreational benefits and engage the local community to take ownership of their water environment through environmental monitoring and practical river and flood plain restoration days.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Upper Thames: To continue to roll out the implementation of the Community Guide to the Water Environment (http://www.acre.org.uk/cms/resources/comm-guides/communityguidewater.pdf) to engage land managers and communities in delivering integrated water management, increase resilience and deliver multiple benefits for the water environment, improving water quality and reducing flood risk.
 Ock: Engage landowners to adjust land management through land use models to reduce flood risk, diffuse pollution, taking into account the effect of sewage treatment work (STW) improvements. Take an upstream to downstream approach and protect and build out from the freshwater, standing water and wetland ‘hot-spot’ locations.
Additional measures with £1000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Upper Thames: To test and implement innovative solutions to pollution from STW and land management in order to reduce the impact of rural diffuse pollution and point source pollution. Prioritising coordinated action to enhance river habitats and increase the natural resilience (for example, non-native invasive species) across the whole river system.
 Ock: Extend downstream existing river ‘hot-spot’ sections, create water quality buffers around key freshwater and wetland sites, build out from protected grassland habitats (for example, Thames flood plain), implement measures for species of conservation concern and install clean water ponds and wetlands across the catchment.
Further information on the partnership is available at: Upper Thames: http://www.fwagsw.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/esters-page/ Ock: http://www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/
 
''Measures in the Kennet catchment''
Catchment partnership: The Kennet catchment partnership is hosted by Action for the River Kennet and includes representatives from the local community, Atkins, the Canal and Rivers Trust, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Environment Agency, the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, the Kennet and Pang Fishery Action Plan Stakeholder Group, Kennet Valley Fishery Association, Natural England (NE), Reading and District Angling Association, Thames Water and West Berkshire District Council. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are interrelated and are nutrients, sediments and algal growth; channel modification and degradation of habitats; and pressures from abstractions within the catchment.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Significant habitat restoration and fish passage projects are underway and planned in the Middle Kennet and Lambourn. These will improve fish populations and improve hydromorphology by reducing the impact of impoundments. Funded by combination of the Environment Agency, NE and private funds.
 Small scale restoration projects in the middle and lower Kennet with volunteer input are joining the gaps between significant scale habitat restoration works.
 Projects working with farmers to reduce nitrate and phosphate pollution are underway and planned in the Middle Kennet and tributaries with funding from NE and the Environment Agency bolstered by additional funding and ‘in kind’ assistance from partners.
 Public outreach projects (for example, Yellow Fish and ‘You poo too’) to reduce pollution from sewers and roads are underway for the entire catchment.
 Water efficiency projects ‘Care for the Kennet’ are helping households to use less water in the Upper and Middle Kennet.
 A cross catchment partnership project, funded by Defra, will improve understanding of the impact of septic tanks and develop ways to reduce pollution from them.
 Urban habitat restoration and fish easements to address low fish populations are planned for the Lower Kennet.
 Continue to work with Thames Water on abstraction issues in the Kennet, including the construction of pipeline from Axford to Swindon to be completed in 2016.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 complete the Upper Kennet Habitat Restoration Plan projects
 implement a Lower Kennet Habitat Restoration plan to bring the poorest water bodies to good status by resolving failures in fish, invertebrate and plant populations and improving amenity and recreational value
 improve understanding of the relationship between water quality and algal growth and implement a plan to reduce the problems of algae and its impact on plants
 agree a strategy for resolving the issue of the interaction between the Kennet and Avon canal and the River Kennet
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 improve water quality in Kennet and Avon canal to reduce its impact on the river
 take actions to improve treated waste water from small point source inputs
 review water management in the upper Kennet and improve water efficiency
For current information on the Kennet catchment partnership contact ARK: mailto:info@riverkennet.org and see the partnership website: www.kennetcatchment.org
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 7
Measures in the Loddon catchment
Catchment partnership(s): The Loddon catchment partnership is formed of a steering group made up of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency, the Loddon Fisheries and Conservation Consultative, the Loddon Basin Flood Action Group, Affinity Water (also representing Thames Water and South East Water), Natural England, Hampshire County Council, Wokingham Borough Council, the National Farmers' Union, Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and the University of Reading.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are:
 habitat and biodiversity, including channel structure and function, barriers to fish passage, habitat management and flood plain connectivity
 water quality. in particular phosphorus, sediment and pesticides
 water quantity (flooding and abstraction)
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 The Loddon Farm Advice Project focuses on rural diffuse pollution across the catchment. The project aims to improve the status of phosphate and fish in 3 water bodies by 2021 as well as reducing the impacts of pesticides on public drinking water abstractions. Currently 80% of the funding comes from government grant although alternative funding streams are being investigated. The cost of the measures will be in the region of £200,000 over 6 years.
 Several projects currently in place include action to reduce the impact of invasive non-native species, raising awareness of riparian habitat management with landowners and holding an annual ‘Rivers Week’ to increase engagement with the public.
 The Loddon catchment partnership is also involved in a joint project with other nearby partnerships to raise awareness of the issues of phosphorus from domestic waste water inputs and to address problems associated with septic tanks and misconnections contributing to algal blooms in the rivers.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 carry out a River Whitewater structures and habitat improvement project to improve the status for fish in the River Whitewater
 increase the scope of the Loddon Farm Advice Project to address rural diffuse pollution across the catchment to help protect public drinking water abstractions
 work with the Loddon Basin Flood Action Group to develop flood mitigation projects that also deliver river basin management objectives
 influence and encourage sustainable development for the water environment to aid climate change adaptation and mitigation
 engage with communities to take ownership of their local water environment and provide education and training opportunities
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Return water corridors in the Loddon catchment to a near natural state providing social, flood risk mitigation and biodiversity action plan habitat benefits.
 Identify and reduce pollution in water bodies across the catchment, with the University of Reading developing tools for evaluation and planning. These will be used in the Loddon catchment and could also be made available for use in other catchments.
Further information on the partnership please email: mailto:Loddon.Catchment@hiwwt.org.uk
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 8
Measures in the London – Beverley Brook catchment
Catchment partnership
The Beverley Brook Catchment Partnership is hosted by the South East Rivers Trust. The Steering Group is made up of the Environment Agency, The Royal Parks, Wimbledon Common Conservators, Friends of Barnes Common, London Boroughs of Richmond, Wandsworth, Sutton and Merton, Royal Borough of Kingston, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Thames21, London Wildlife Trust and Thames Water.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are:
 poor water quality due to diffuse pollution from road run-off and misconnected pipes
 high phosphate levels originating from effluent from the sewage treatment works
 physical modifications that have been made to the river leading to a uniform channel with poor hydromorphological and habitat diversity
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
A project to enhance the Beverley Brook through Richmond Park has been funded by the Environment Agency’s Environment Programme, the Catchment Partnership Action Fund, Friends of Richmond Park and other sources. This project will enhance river habitat throughout the park with the creation of a backwater, bank softening, 500m of in-channel improvements and measures to control the impacts from deer and dogs. The project also aims to improve water quality by working on outfalls to reduce silt and other contaminants entering the river.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Habitat and hydromorphological enhancements throughout the Beverley Brook and its tributaries to support fish, plant and invertebrate populations as well as enhance natural processes and ecosystem resilience. Measures include removal of redundant bank reinforcements, bank softening, tree management, installation of woody material, backwater creation and reconnection with the flood plain. Key locations include Barnes Common, Vine Road Recreation Ground, Leaders Gardens, Palewell Common, Richmond Park (additional to the above), Wimbledon Common, Malden Park Golf Course, Beverley Park, Worcester Park, and Morden Cemetery as well as Motspur Park and Morden Park on the Pyl Brook tributary.
 Locally targeted campaigns to raise awareness among domestic properties and businesses about misconnections, only flushing water down sinks and drains, and promoting water efficiency measures.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Retrofitting of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and other water management measures throughout the catchment to improve water quality and reduce the flashy nature of the river due to high volumes of run-off.
 Control and reduce road run-off through the installation of sediment interceptors, such as hydrodynamic vortex chambers, on all surface water drains.
 Full river restoration through Richmond Park, Beverley Park and Barnes Common.
 Fish passage enhancement at Horne Way Weir through full removal with re-routing the sewer pipe or low flow fish passage enhancement measures.
Further information on the partnership is available at: The South East Rivers Trust (SERT) | Part of the Wandle Trust: Reg. Charity No. 1091000w.
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 9
Measures in the London - Brent catchment
Catchment partnership: The Brent catchment partnership is an informal group of organisations committed to working together to improve the rivers, the Grand Union Canal and the Brent Reservoir in the Brent catchment in north and west London. The members include charities, community groups, borough councils, private businesses and government agencies.
The partnership’s priority Water Framework Directive issues are reducing pollution, making rivers more natural, and tackling invasive non-native species.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 A £500,000 project funded by the London Borough of Harrow and the Big Green Fund is creating wetlands as part of a flood storage and river restoration project at Stanmore Marsh, including mitigation measures and improvements to invertebrates, macrophytes and water quality elements in 1 water body.
 With £4,000 River and Wetland Community Day funding, Thames 21 is working with the London Borough of Ealing to engage volunteers in installing in-channel enhancements on the lower Brent through Ealing, contributing to putting mitigation measures in place and to improvements in fish and invertebrates in 1 water body.
 Two more improvement projects are planned. A backwater will be created and a weir will be notched at Greenford Island, while £50,000 of Section 106 funding will contribute to improving a reach of the Brent in Hendon. These mitigation measures will benefit fish and invertebrates in 2 water bodies.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Catchment-wide engagement and training of community volunteers in invasive species management and removal techniques, with benefits for macrophytes and putting mitigation measures in place in 8 water bodies.
 Habitat projects across the catchment involving volunteers, removing timber bank reinforcement and enhancing banks and margins, with benefits for macrophytes, fish and invertebrates in 4 water bodies.
 Citizen science water quality monitoring and training to do ‘walkovers’, to record and report pollution incidents, to gather information on the state of the rivers and target further action to improve water quality elements.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Transforming up to 10 km of heavily modified river to a more natural condition, including restoration projects in Tokyngton Park and Queensbury Rec, managing invasive species and engaging and educating the community. This will result in improvements for fish, invertebrates and macrophytes in at least 2 water bodies, with benefits for flood storage and improved access along the river corridor.
 Install reedbeds or other pollution interceptors at priority sites such as Coston’s Brook, the Mutton Brook and the Crouch Brook, resulting in improvements in phosphate, dissolved oxygen and ammonia in 4 water bodies.
 Strategic review of barriers to fish, and implementation of fish passage at priority weirs. This will improve fish populations and angling opportunities in 3 water bodies.
Further information on the partnership is available at:
http://www.brentcatchmentrivers.org.uk/
 
 
''Measures in the London - Crane catchment''
 
Catchment partnership: The Crane Valley Partnership is a collaboration between charities, community groups, private businesses, government agencies and the 5 borough councils that border the River Crane and Yeading Brook (Harrow, Hillingdon, Ealing, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames).
Priority Water Framework Directive issues for the partnership are clean, clear water; monitoring to identify issues and evaluate projects; and an accessible, natural looking and functioning river, rich in habitats and wildlife.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 8 confirmed projects will create backwaters and wetlands at Crane Meadows, Donkey Wood, Mill Road and the middle River Crane; selective tree removal, appropriate aquatic planting and installation of woody debris berms at Cranebank and Gutteridge Woods; eel passage at Kidd’s Mill and Mogden. Cost of measures is £350,000, contributing to improvements in the status of fish, invertebrates and macrophytes in 2 water bodies.
 Duke’s River enhancements downstream of Kneller Gardens, supported by the Big Green Fund and Section106 funding, costing £420,000 - mainly improving access and amenity value, but will also put 50% of mitigation measures in place in 1 water body.
 ‘Citizen Crane’ community monitoring projects for phosphorus levels, invertebrates, and polluted outfalls, resulting in identification of pollution hotspots and incidents; improvements to Heathrow Airport’s Eastern Balancing Pond. Action as a result will improve water quality elements in 3 water bodies.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Ongoing, co-ordinated programme for the catchment-wide control of invasive species and planting of indigenous species to slow the spread of invasive plants and increase the abundance of indigenous marginal plants.
 Natural River Project along 4km of the River Crane and Yeading Brook: in-channel habitat enhancements, backwater creation, tree works and removal of wooden bank protection to put mitigation measures in place and resolve failures in fish, invertebrate and macrophyte populations; improve amenity and recreational value; and improve resilience during pollution incidents.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 'Only Rain in Rivers' pollution awareness campaign throughout the Crane catchment to reduce the impact of pollution from misconnections and incidents.
 Strategic review of barriers to fish passage and implementation of fish passage at priority weirs. This will improve fish populations, with improved angling opportunities, in 3 water bodies.
 Lower Crane River Restoration: removal of 2km of concrete channel in public open spaces downstream of Mereway Road. This will improve fish, invertebrate and macrophyte populations in 1 water body, with benefits for flood storage, access and recreation, and education.
For further information on the Crane Valley Partnership see their website http://www.cranevalley.org.uk/ or contact mailto:ilse@greencorridor.org.uk
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 11
Measures in the London - Hogsmill catchment
Catchment partnership
The Hogsmill catchment partnership is hosted by the South East Rivers Trust. The Steering Group is made up of the Environment Agency, Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Surrey County Council, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Thames Water, Kingston University, The Environment Trust, Kingston Environment Centre, the Zoological Society of London, Surrey Wildlife Trust, London Wildlife Trust, the Lower Mole Project and representation from Quadron, the Thames Angling Conservancy and the London Bat Group.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are:
 poor water quality due to diffuse pollution from road run-off, point source pollution from misconnected pipes, and phosphate from the Hogsmill sewage treatment works (STW)
 physical modifications such as reinforced bed and walls, the installation of weirs, channel straightening and disconnection from the flood plain
 poor hydromorphological and habitat diversity
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 A habitat enhancement project in the upper reaches of the Hogsmill in Ewell has been funded by the Catchment Partnership Action Fund. This project will enhance the habitat for fish, invertebrates and other wildlife.
 Volunteers will help to monitor the condition of the river through the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative and a pollution monitoring programme. Volunteers will also help deliver river and catchment based enhancements.
 Fish passage will be enabled past the weirs and concrete channel at the Hogsmill sewage treatment works through a project funded by Thames Water.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Identify sources of pollutants and contaminants using citizen science such as phosphate upstream of STWs. Locally targeted campaigns to raise awareness with domestic properties and businesses about misconnections, what goes down drains, and promoting water efficiency measures.
 Begin tackling urban diffuse pollution through the installation of sediment interceptors, like hydrodynamic vortex chambers, on surface water drains.
 Habitat and hydromorphological enhancements throughout the Hogsmill to improve natural processes for fish, plant and invertebrate populations. Control of Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed to prevent sediment ingress.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Major river enhancement and flood plain reconnection projects at Chamber Mead and Elmbridge Meadows. This could provide significant flood alleviation benefits.
 Retrofitting of sustainable urban drainage systems throughout the catchment to improve water quality. Design and delivery of collaborative projects to reduce flood risk by natural flood management.
 Replacement or modification of the Kingston Gauging weir to enhance fish passage and provide replacement gauging.
Further information on the partnership is available at: www.southeastriverstrust.org
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 12
Measures in the Lower Lea North catchment
Catchment partnership
The Lower Lee catchment partnership comprises Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust , the Environment Agency, Affinity Water, Groundwork Hertfordshire, Herts County Council, Natural England, Lea Valley Regional Park, the Rt Honourable Charles Walker MP, Fishers Green Angling Consortium, Waltham Abbey AC, Rural Angling Society, Kings Weir Fishery, Cheshunt Natural History Society, Hoddesdon Society, London Anglers' Association, Kings Arms and Cheshunt and the Palmers Green Angling Societies and the Hertford Angling Club.
The priority issues in the catchment are poor water quality from waste water treatment, pollution incidents and misconnections, pollution and poor water quality from urban run-off and historic land use and physical modifications for urbanisation and flood protection.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
'Conserving Slimy Wrigglers' aims to address the specific issue of structures on the Lower Lea that prevent the movement of eels as many of the rivers in the catchment are failing to meet their ecological potential due to poor fish populations. This collaboration with the Upper Lea catchment partnership will aim to design, build and install features to ease eel movement on a maximum of 3 structures.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following, outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Lea tributaries catchment walkover project would aim to improve knowledge and understanding of the tributaries and their importance to the River Lea by monitoring pH, nitrates, phosphates, flora, fauna, turbidity and siltation. This could then be used to identify problems and help develop further projects to improve the status of the water body.
 Establish a Lower Lea riverfly monitoring group to sample and identify a range of freshwater invertebrates on a monthly basis to build up a picture of the river's health, improve knowledge of the catchment, increase public engagement and participation, reduce the frequency and severity of pollution and improve the status of the water body.
 The River Lea fish shelter project would help to restore in-channel diversity, improve habitats and provide shelter for fish during high flows. It aims to reduce the need for restocking by making fish populations self-sustaining, improving the status of the water body.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Promote and encourage the use of sustainable drainage systems in new developments and retrofitting existing sites within the catchment to reduce the impacts of urban diffuse pollution on water quality and flood risk.
 River bank and channel enhancements in the catchment to reduce sediment input and improve wildlife habitat. Promoting the use of willow spiling, deflectors and coir rolls to improve the status for fish, invertebrates and macrophytes.
 Cornmill Stream restoration project to reinstate flow by removing silt and vegetation to improve the status for fish, macrophytes, invertebrates and recreational value.
 The Red House Fishery and the Barbel Spawning Beds projects aim to improve fish spawning habitats by removing silt and using in-channel features to provide areas of clean gravel to improve the status for fish, invertebrates, macrophytes and recreational value.
Further information is available at: http://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/contact-us and
http://www.riverleacatchment.org.uk/
 
 
''Measures in the Lower Lea South (London Lea) catchment''
Catchment partnership: There is not currently a formal catchment partnership for the London Lea. As catchment host, environmental charity Thames21 is listening to the wishes and contributions of their Love the Lea campaign supporters and other organisations including the Greater London Authority, All London Green Grid, London Wildlife Trust, Lee Valley Park, Canal and River Trust, Environment Agency, Natural England, and the London boroughs of Enfield, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Hackney. In time, these conversations will inform the development of the Catchment Management Plan.
The priority issues in the London Lea are: water quality, biodiversity, and raising awareness of the rivers of the catchment and how we impact them.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Working with the local community to install reedbeds on the Lee Navigation and at Grovelands Park in the Salmon Brook Catchment. These projects will contribute to improvements in water quality elements.
 Installing 'Rain Planters' on schools and community buildings, contributing to improvements in water quality elements.
 Collating information on projects, news and events across the catchment and publicising them on the London Lea catchment website.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Employ a full-time Partnership Officer to further engage communities, provide volunteering opportunities, coordinate ‘friends of’ groups and river champions across the catchment in a community focused, ‘grassroots’ partnership.
 Develop and provide a ‘skills through training’ programme as part of Thames21’s existing accredited training programme; to empower members of the community to effectively engage and raise issues with statutory bodies.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Reduce the frequency and severity of pollution, increasing surface water management at source, leading to improvements in water quality elements in all water bodies (including: ‘Rain Planter’ (mini SuDS) programme, downpipe disconnection programme, and large scale sustainable drainage projects)
 Restore an ecologically complex structure to the river channels, improving riverine and riparian habitat, river function and sustainability. This will improve macrophytes, invertebrate and fish populations in all water bodies.
 Engage people and communities by improving their knowledge and understanding of the catchment, and of the impact of their behaviour on the water environment. This will result in greater public engagement and participation in improving the catchment’s ecology.
Further information on the London Lea is available at: http://www.riverleacatchment.org.uk/index.php/london-lea-home
 
''Measures in the London Marsh Dykes catchment''
Catchment partnership
The Thamesmead and Marsh Dykes catchment partnership is co-hosted by Thames 21 and the London Wildlife Trust. The steering group is made up of the Environment Agency, local angling groups, London Borough of Bexley, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Peabody Group (in particular Gallions Housing, Tilfen Land, and Trust Thamesmead), and Thames Water.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are:
 de-silting and physical modifications to the Thamesmead canal and lake system
 water quality improvement and community engagement to accrue social and economic benefits
 addressing diffuse pollution and litter
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 A project to enhance the habitat of the Waterfields Canal has been funded by the Catchment Partnership Action Fund and will be delivered by London Wildlife Trust and Thames 21. This project will enhance habitats for fish and help to improve flow in the canal.
 The Environment Agency’s environment programme will provide additional funding for further enhancement works to the watercourses throughout 2015.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Working in collaboration with the Peabody Group, Thames Water and local authorities complete a canal de-silting programme and introduce a silt prevention regime.
 Work in partnership with current projects to improve community access and engagement with watercourses in the catchment to include linking the Tump 53 and Crossness Nature Reserves.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Major lake and canal restoration projects to improve water quality, fish and invertebrate populations and deliver benefits for public amenity and education.
 Natural watercourse projects along the dykes in the east of the catchment to improve water vole habitat and promote natural habitat awareness among local communities.
 Development of the derelict ecology centre at Tump 52 and Crossway Canal.
 Development of a catchment streams restoration project to improve water bodies within Borstal Woods, and Bedens Stream at the outer areas of the catchment.
Further information on the partnership is available at: www.thames21.org.uk
 
''Measures in the London Ravensbourne catchment''
Catchment partnership
The Ravensbourne catchment partnership is hosted by Thames21. The steering group is made up of Thames21, the Environment Agency, London boroughs of Lewisham, Bromley and Greenwich, the London Wildlife Trust and the Quaggy Waterways Action Group.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are the physical modifications made to the river, diffuse pollution from urban areas and point-source pollution of sewage.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Creating easier access for eels in the Ravensbourne by installing eel passes on weirs. This project is funded through the catchment partnership action fund.
 Reducing the flooding impact of heavy rain in this urbanised catchment along with improving water quality entering the river through the sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) project. This project was funded by the Environment Agency’s environment programme.
 Identify suitable sites for SuDS throughout the catchment. This project has been funded by Patagonia and will be carried out within the 2015/16 financial year.
 Engage with user groups and the wider community for citizen science water-quality testing. This project was funded by the River and Wetland Community Days scheme. It was started during the 3 Rivers Clean Up 2015 and concluded in the autumn.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Cator Park restoration. Project to include improvements to Cator Park, the Beck and Chaffinch Brook. The River Pool at Cator Park is presently fenced off from public view in a deep, linear concrete channel. This project will reconnect the river with Cator Park for the benefit of wildlife, recreation, aesthetic improvement and an enhanced level of flood protection. It will also include improvement to the river and a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) by the removal of weirs and concrete, the reintroduction of meanders and in-stream enhancements and increased marginal vegetation.
 Catchment-wide interpretation boards. These will include a catchment map, an overview of the local biodiversity, links to local groups and volunteering opportunities. There will also be a hotline number to the Environment Agency and Thames Water for reporting pollution, misconnections and incidents.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year:
 Riverview Walk, Sydenham. The project would create a natural river by removing its concrete channel and introducing meanders. This would improve biodiversity, help flood alleviation and create link to the River Pool project.
 Weir removal or modification at Keston Common, Hayes Lane, Dainford Close, Ford Mill, Beckenham Hill at Homebase, Glassmill Lane, 'Steps' Croydon Road, Keston Mark, Padmall Wood and Lewisham to Ladywell. This will improve passage along the river for fish (including eels) and invertebrates.
Further information on the partnership is available at: www.thames21.org.uk
 
''Measures in the London Wandle catchment''
Catchment partnership
The Wandle catchment partnership is hosted by the Wandle Trust, part of the South East Rivers Trust. The steering group is made up of the Environment Agency, the London boroughs of Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, Thames Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, London Wildlife Trust, the Wandle Valley Regional Park Trust, the National Trust and Beddington Farmlands.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are:
 physical modifications made to the river, including impoundments from weirs that prevent fish passage
 urban diffuse pollution, in particular contaminants from road run-off and misconnected pipes
 high nutrient levels due to phosphate introduced from Beddington sewage treatment works
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Removal of the Half Tide Weir by the London Borough of Wandsworth, enhancing connectivity and tidal habitat at the confluence of the Wandle and Thames.
 The Trewint Street fish passage project, funded by Thames Water, the Environment Agency and the Catchment Partnership Action Fund, will enhance fish passage over the concrete aprons and structures at Trewint Street in Earlsfield, London.
 River habitat enhancements in Ravensbury Park and other locations as part of the Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
 Control and removal of invasive species (undertaken by several partners and a variety of funding sources) including those contributing sediment ingress.
 A sustainable urban drainage project has been funded by the Environment Agency environment programme. The scheme will improve water quality from urban run-off as well as provide flood alleviation benefits.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 removal of all remaining small weirs, such as the weir on the Croydon arm of the Wandle, wherever possible to enhance habitat and restore fish passage
 enhancement of in-stream channel diversity with bank re-grading and the creation of low flow channels and backwaters at multiple locations throughout the river
 a citizen science based water quality and pollution monitoring scheme as well as river enhancement monitoring to help inform the targeting of water quality improvement measures and effective design of river enhancements
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 removal of Shepley Mill, Watermeads, Goat Bridge, Topps Tiles and EDF weirs, with the installation of appropriate structures passable to fish, such as a rock ramp or stepped pool pass where water levels need to be maintained
 full river restoration through Beddington Park, including sustainable lake enhancement, and King George's Park
 installation of sediment traps, such as hydrodynamic vortex chambers, on all significant surface water drains discharging into the river and their incorporation into all new developments
Futher information on the partnership is available at: www.wandletrust.org
 
''Measures in the Maidenhead to Sunbury catchment''
Catchment partnership: The Lower Thames catchment (also known as the Maidenhead to Sunbury catchment) is made up of a steering group consisting of Thames21 (hosts), Thames Landscape Strategy, River Thames Alliance and British Canoeing, the Environment Agency. The wider partnership includes all local authorities from each of the boroughs in the catchment, River User Group 8, 3 angling groups, 10 local community organisations, 1 Local Nature Partnership, and Natural England.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are habitat and biodiversity ( including channel structure and function, barriers to fish passage, habitat management and flood plain connectivity), water quality (in particular phosphorus, sediment and pesticides) and collecting evidence.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Many member organisations are currently operating their own projects on the catchment, which implement river basin management mitigation measures and more, such as Thames21 community and volunteer engagement project funded by the Royal Bank of Canada, Thames Landscape Strategy - the Arcadian flood plain, and the River Thames Alliance - Waterways Plan. Opportunities to implement river basin management mitigation measures identified in partnership members’ own projects will be shared and promoted.
 The Thames Landscape Strategy Project, which will reconnect the Home Park flood plain to the Thames via the installation of a sustainable urban drainage system (SuDS). This will also give an opportunity to local people to learn about their river and SuDS. This has been funded by a government grant.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 engagement and training of community volunteers in river restoration, invasive species management and putting mitigation measures in place
 small-scale habitat projects with consideration for cross catchment mutual gains involving volunteers to re-naturalise a river corridor, reconnecting the river to its flood plain, removing hard banking and planting with marginal native macrophytes, and installing a small scale SuDS reed bed on a priority surface water body
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 high media level promoting of the Lower Thames, for catchment-wide engagement of people and business
 citizen science and accredited training for community volunteers in catchment area
 strategic review of barriers to fish, and back waters and scope implementation of new design fish passages at priority weirs (for example, Salthill stream and Roundmoor Ditch). This will improve fish populations and habitat for refuge
Further information on the partnership is available at: http://www.thames21.org.uk/the-maidenhead-to-teddington-catchment/
 
''Measures in the Medway catchment''
Catchment partnerships
The Medway co-hosted by the South East Rivers Trust and the Kent Countryside Management Partnerships, with support from Kent Wildlife Trust in the Eden and Upper Medway.
The priority issues identified by the partnership are physical modifications to the river, water quality, and water flows and availability.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 The partnership will implement a project to make Harper’s Weir fish passable, improving fish passage in the Lesser Teise by linking 3.5km of the river which was previously disconnected.
 The Kent Wildlife Trust has secured funding to carry out restoration and creation of wetland habitats and provide landowner advice for the Eden operational catchment.
 Medway Valley Countryside Partnership (MVCP) has established an invasive non-native plant species (INNS) control and management programme across the Medway catchment.
 MVCP is leading a project to provide 2km of riparian habitat improvements to restore fish habitat and river function on the Hammer Stream in the Beult operational catchment.
 4 schemes are proposed to remove artificial structures in the Eden, Teise and Beult operational catchments. These are barriers to fish movement and are contributing to problems with flow dynamics, resulting in a build up of fine sediment, pollutants and an impoverished habitat for aquatic life.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Wetland habitat creation scheme and removal of retention boards along the River Eden. Kent Wildlife Trust working with local landowners and user groups will tackle diffuse pollution, fish passage and river habitat. This will lead to element status improvement in 2 water bodies. Weir removal along 4km of the Lesser Teise, removal of 3 fixed crest weirs, in-channel mitigation and habitat enhancement works. This will help to resolve failures in fish, invertebrate and macrophyte populations and improve water quality.
 Continuation of the control of INNS programme.
 Citizen Science projects to collect data, observations and early warnings. Funding will provide workshops and training events, walkover surveys, sampling, INNS.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Fish pass or removal of 5 structures (East Farleigh lock, Yalding, Leigh, Chafford auto sluice and Ashurst Weir), allowing migratory fish and eels to access 93km of the 112km length of the main river and opening up 14 tributaries for spawning.
 Improve the quality, quantity and connectivity of riparian habitats across key sites in the catchment. Element improvements to 12 water bodies would be possible.
 Maintaining a Healthy Catchment project aims to improve water quality by tackling aggravated erosion, river restoration to make low-flow river channels, which would allow the ecosystem to be more resilient, and improving species diversity by increasing the complexity of aquatic habitats. This will be delivered through education and training of river restoration to empower the community.
Further information on the partnership is available at: http://www.medwayvalley.org, http://www.southeastriverstrust.org/, http://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/, http://www.khwp.org.uk.
 
''Measures in the Mole catchment''
Catchment partnership
The River Mole partnership is jointly hosted by the Surrey Wildlife Trust and The South East Rivers Trust. The steering group includes the Environment Agency, Natural England, Surrey County Council, district councils, Countryside Partnerships, Thames Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water and Sussex Wildlife Trust. The wider partnership is made up of a number of interested organisations, local community groups and landowners.
The priority issues in the catchment are:
 man-made modifications in the river
 pollution from waste water
 diffuse pollution from farmland
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Greater fish passage on the lower section of the Pipp Brook, a tributary of the Mole, funded by the Catchment Partnership Action Fund will improve the fish status of the water body.
 East Surrey Rivers Project includes a series of tasks on the Redhill Brook to improve fish passage and habitat. This is funded by the Environment Agency.
 Creation of wetland habitat at Ashtead Rye Meadows to improve habitat diversity and flood protection.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Modification of Horley Weir to allow fish passage into the upper reaches of the Mole.
 Diffuse Pollution and Sustainable Urban Drainage Advice Project to operate throughout the catchment. This would greatly extend a proven mechanism of reducing the impacts of rural and urban diffuse pollution, partially resolving catchment-wide phosphate failures.
 Develop a comprehensive strategy for tackling non-native invasive species.
 Mapping opportunity areas for natural flood management in the catchment to allow implementation of small-medium scale projects such as pond and hedge creation and grass margins.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
Catchment-wide projects with multiple benefits with principal aims to:
 Remove barriers that are impeding fish passage and contributing directly to the local recovery of populations of threatened priority fish species, such as brown trout, Atlantic salmon and European eel, with associated recreational and fisheries benefits.
 Restore natural morphology where man-made modifications exist with channel habitat creation, gravel reintroduction, tree works and back waters, allowing naturalised flow regimes and sediment transport and associated flood management benefits.
 Install fish bypass structures on the 5 weirs of the Lower Mole flood alleviation scheme .
Further information is available at: www.surreywildlifetrust.org/what-we-do/living-landscapes/partnership-and-advocacy
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 20
Measures in the North Kent catchment
Catchment partnership
The North Kent Catchment Partnership is co-hosted by the Medway Swale Estuary Partnership and South East Rivers Trust. The members include the Environment Agency, Medway Council, Swale Borough Council, Kent County Council, Southern Water, Elmley Conservation Trust, Kent Wildlife Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Peel Ports Medway, Faversham Creek Trust, the National Farmers' Union, Friends of the Westbrook Stream, Kent Wildfowling and Conservation Association, Farm for Wildlife, Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, Rochester Floating Oyster Fisheries and the Medway and Swale Boating Association.
The partnership has identified priority issues in the catchment as:
 water quality, in particular point source pollution from the water industry, rural diffuse pollution and urban diffuse pollution
 physical modifications to the river - changes to the shape and position of the rivers have dramatically altered the river habitat and have introduced barriers to fish movement
 invasive non-native species (INNS) - these have an adverse impact on plants, invertebrates and fish communities within the fresh water bodies and the estuary
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
In order to address the priority issues, the partnership is:
 Carrying out a £41,000 project to start to tackle rural pollution and appraise options to deal with urban diffuse pollution from road run-off on the White Drain.
 Carrying out a project that enhances water vole habitat and reduce rural pollution.
 Liaising with the RSPB on its Seasalter Masterplan to ensure multiple benefits for the catchment. This project involves farm advice to target land management practices for the benefit of breeding birds.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 4 projects have been identified on the White Drain to improve the aquatic habitat, reduce abstraction, create better fish and eel passage and improve pollution prevention
 land management project to improve water quality and habitat in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) nature reserve, currently in unfavourable condition
 continued awareness raising and monitoring of marine non-native invasive species, working closely with local groups such as the RSPB, Kent Wildlife Trust and marina owners
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Catchment-wide wetland project, including the creation of new fresh and brackish wetlands. This will focus on improving biodiversity and creation of on-farm treatment of diffuse and point source pollution from farming activity.
 Saltmarsh creation in the Medway Estuary.
 Increase recreational opportunities like sailing and rowing as well as contributing to Biodiversity 2020 targets.
Further information is available at: www.msep.org.uk/your-estuary-catchment-improvement-plans/ and www.southeastriverstrust.org/
 
''Measures in the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne catchment''
Catchment partnership
The Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne catchment partnership includes Thames21, Thames Chase Trust, the Environment Agency, Thames Water, London boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham, the Forestry Commission, Essex Wildlife Trust, London Wildlife Trust, Epping Forest District Council, the RSPB, Friends of the Ingrebourne Valley and Hornchurch Marshes and Brentwood Borough Council.
The priority issues in the catchment are pollution and poor water quality from urban and agricultural run-off and physical modifications for urbanisation and flood protection.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
The Ingrebourne Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) project focuses on an urban drainage outfall near Squadrons Approach in Hornchurch, impacting on the Ingrebourne marshes, which are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The project aims to reduce phosphates, ammonia, heavy metals and silt from urban run-off entering the SSSI marshes. This involves the creation of a network of pools and swales to slow the water flow, giving time for silt to drop out and enable planted vegetation to filter the water, removing pollutants prior to water entering the main river channel and the SSSI.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following, outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Connecting Communities; encouraging communities to take ownership of water quality in their area. Practical conservation days, training events, misconnection awareness and littering prevention campaigns, water quality monitoring and an Ingrebourne Valley mobile app.
 Development and implementation of a water body wide invasive species identification, monitoring and eradication programme. Surveying for invasive non-native species (INNS) such as mink, Himalayan balsam, floating pennywort and Japanese knotweed.
 Promote and encourage the use of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in new developments and retrofitting to existing sites within the catchment to reduce the impacts of urban diffuse pollution and phosphate run-off from fertilisers and herbicides.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Implementation of the Havering Wildlife Project Ingrebourne Restoration Plan. Flood management using natural processes, climate change adaptation, reconnecting people to the environment, improved recreation access and enhanced habitats. This project will improve the status of fish, macrophytes and invertebrates and improve amenity and recreational value.
 Modelling and design proposals for the Harrow Lodge Park Restoration Plan on the Ravensbourne. Ultimately, this will improve the status of fish, invertebrate and macrophyte populations and amenity and recreational value.
 Development and implementation of a water body wide culvert awareness and removal programme. Promoting alternatives to culverting, influencing planning policy and encouraging sustainable development without culverts. This will resolve failures in fish and invertebrates, increase recreational opportunities and contribute to biodiversity.
Further information is available at: http://www.catchmentbasedapproach.org/thames/roding-ingrebourne
Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 22
Measures in the South Essex catchment
Catchment Partnership: The South Essex Catchment Partnership (SECP) includes: Thames Chase Trust, Environment Agency, Anglian Water, Essex & Suffolk Water Ltd, Thurrock Council, Essex Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Davy Down Trust, and local volunteers.
The priority issues to tackle in this catchment are: pollution; poor water quality from urban and agricultural run-off; and physical modification due to urbanisation and flood protection.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
The partnership has a master plan for restoration of the Lower Mardyke. Current funding will improve 1km of the Mardyke by:
 creating new berms to form a narrower river channel with faster flow exposing river gravels and creating new breaches/channels to connect 20 hectares of floodplain
 increasing habitat quality of the Mardyke Valley
 creating a raised viewing point
 raising awareness of issues affecting river catchments and river restoration by hosting public events in the Mardyke Valley
 increasing knowledge and awareness within Thurrock Open spaces staff and the wider public
£31,000 has been awarded by the Catchment Action Partnership Fund to deliver this project.
The SECP aim to enhance and restore a wider part of the lower Mardyke in the future.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following projects and outcomes could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 introduce more sustainable urban drainage systems e.g. to reduce the impact of misconnections, road run-off, urban drainage and rural diffuse pollution
 development and implementation of a water body wide invasive species identification, monitoring and eradication programme. Surveying for Invasive Non Native Species
 encourage communities to take ownership of water quality in their area. Practical conservation days, training events, misconnections and littering campaigns, water quality monitoring and a Mardyke Valley mobile app
Additional measures with £1 million per year (as above plus the following):
 Flood management using natural processes, climate change adaptation, reconnecting people to the environment (possible creation of new paid Community Engagement Officer post), improved recreation access and enhanced habitats. This project will improve the status of plants and animals and improve amenity & recreational value.
 Development and implementation of a water body wide culvert awareness and removal programme. Promoting alternatives to culverting, influencing planning policy and encouraging sustainable development without culverts.
 Improve links to the RSPB Purfleet which is currently land-locked in terms of access up to the Mardyke Valley.
More information can be obtained from the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) website http://www.catchmentbasedapproach.org/thames/south-essex
 
''Measures in Thame and South Chilterns catchment''
Catchment partnerships: There are two partnerships in this management catchment. The Thame partnership is hosted by the Freshwater Habitats Trust and the River Thame Conservation Trust. The South Chilterns partnership is hosted by the Foundation for Water Research. The partnerships include the Environment Agency, Chilterns Chalk Stream Project, Revive the Wye and the Chiltern Society, West Berkshire Countryside Society, West Berkshire Farming and Countryside Project, Aylesbury Vale Council Natural England, Thames Water, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), the National Farmers' Union (NFU), Wycombe District Council, Thame Fisheries Consultative, the Royal Yachting Association, Withymead Nature Reserve, North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Thame Valley Fisheries Preservation Consultative, Cuttlebrook Conservation Volunteers, Save the River Thame and the Watlington Environment Group.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in both catchments are diffuse pollution from both rural and urban sources; point source pollution and habitat degradation.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 South Chilterns: Habitat improvement projects on the Wye and Pang, creating a significant number and range of new habitats for fish and invertebrates. The work will also help address poor riverine habitat caused by diffuse pollution from urban surface water drainage and rural diffuse pollution sources, and will reduce flood risk. To date, the projects have been mainly funded by government grants.
 Thame: Working with partners in the Lower Thame (including the Chalgrove Brook, the Holton Brook and Kingsey/Cuttle Brooks) to improve water quality and habitats by reducing impacts from point source and diffuse source pollution as well as providing habitat improvement, extending clean water ponds and increasing the amount of wetlands across the catchment. Funding for the project has been provided by government grants and Thames Water.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 South Chilterns: Development of recreational access on the Thames at Reading, providing social and economic benefits.
 Thame: Assisting the delivery of the overarching strategy for the Thames on this stretch of the river, in partnership with the Earth Trust, including reduction in flood risk.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 South Chilterns: The partnership would help Wycombe District Council implement the ‘Remaking the Wye’ project. An extensive project looking to rejuvenate the Wye and High Wycombe town centre, providing environmental, social and economic benefits.
 Thame: Work to remove fish barriers along the Thame river corridor. This will include coordinating improvements to the riverine habitat around Aylesbury and creating areas for biodiversity and community access.
Further information on the partnership is available at:
 South Chilterns: http://www.fwr.org/Catchment/index.htm
 Thame: http://www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/or http://www.riverthameconservation.org/
 
''Measures in the Thames (tidal) catchment''
Catchment partnership
The Your Tidal Thames partnership is made up of a Steering Group of catchment hosts, the Thames Estuary Partnership, Thames21, Thames Strategy Kew to Chelsea, and the Thames Landscape Strategy. The Environment Agency and the Port of London Authority also help to steer the partnership. The Steering Group supports a wider partnership, the Strategy Group, which involves many public, private and voluntary sector partners.
The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are
 the Water (including habitat enhancement, water quality, and flood risk)
 the human element (education, access, and public awareness)
 planning and economic development (including river traffic, commerce, fishing, and riverside redevelopment)
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 A misconnections project is being rolled out over 2015-16 targeting the issue of waste water going into the surface water network. The partnership will work with Thames Water to identify the polluted outflows in the Upper and Middle Tidal Thames waterbodies. The partnership will engage with volunteers, schools and builders merchants to deliver sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
 The partnership is liaising with the Environment Agency’s Thames Estuary 2100 project to achieve greater public access and habitat restoration, particularly inter-tidal habitat in the estuary, from any capital works on flood defence.
 An EU Horizon 2020 bid, worth £0.5 million to the catchment, is in the second stage. It will focus on ecosystem services and suitable mitigation measures for estuaries. It will include restored flood meadows, intertidal habitat creation, opportunities for vertical or artificial foreshore, and retrofitting of existing structures. For an update on this project visit www.yourtidalthames.org
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Develop the infrastructure needed to deliver and maintain community led projects within the tidal Thames. This will include maintaining the momentum and monitoring successes. Projects could involve ecologically functioning community gardens and SuDS.
 Work with the planning departments of all 17 riparian local authorities along the tidal Thames and the numerous community development organisations. Maximise sustainable development through innovative partnerships between developers, NGOs and local community groups and ‘honest broker’ support by the catchment partnership.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Major floodplain meadow or intertidal habitat restoration projects where large scale habitat creation opportunities exist. 37 hectares could be created, with sites at either end of the catchment, both estuary and tidal limit. These would include pre and post monitoring to ensure data is contributed to river basin management targets and to build a robust scientific database for the estuary with evidenced improvements.
Further information on the partnership is available at: http://www.yourtidalthames.org
 
''Measures in the Upper Lee catchment''
Catchment partnership: The Upper Lee catchment is home to a number of partnership groups. Membership varies, but at their core are landowners, angling groups, campaigning groups, and local interest organisations. Membership also includes Affinity Water, Thames Water, Groundwork Luton and Beds, Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Luton Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Cranfield University, Luton Airport, Vauxhall and the Environment Agency. All have assisted a better understanding of problems and the health of the water environment in an area of serious water stress and significant growth expectations.
Priority issues include low flows in rivers, pollution from waste water and from rural and urban areas, and modifications, structures and changes to the natural form of rivers.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Affinity Water will invest over £1,000,000 to improve river morphology and undertake other improvements with landowners and local communities. Together with additional investment of £265,000 in 2015/16 (raised from abstraction licence fees), the work will improve river function and resilience, contributing to improved status of the Mimram and Beane chalk rivers in central Hertfordshire.
 Working with Luton Borough Council and Groundwork Luton, the local partnership will invest multi partner funding of around £200,000 to construct at least 1 sustainable drainage system (SuDS) in a public green space, which will help reduce flood risk and improve habitat and water quality of the River Lea in Luton. The project will be complemented by £70,000 of funding from Thames Water for the development and support of a community engagement programme to connect people to the River Lea, and to support volunteer environmental monitoring.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Build further green space SuDS connecting to the Lea in Luton, to mitigate the impact of polluted urban run-off and improve the quality of water entering the Lea and its tributaries. Remove or adapt a minimum of 3 barriers/weirs per year, opening up a minimum of 2 km of impacted river per year.
 Support and develop a network of Living River Champions for every water body in the catchment to lead community level rivers groups. Harness local effort to shape a funding bid to achieve and monitor improvements on at least 1 water body, and engage more people with the health and history of their river.
 Support a programme to produce or update flood modelling for priority water bodies in the catchment, to support and facilitate timely and confident decision making for river restoration projects.
Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):
 Build a network of SuDS in a further 6 urban green spaces across the catchment to contribute to status improvement of at least 3 water bodies.
 Establish and co-lead a national chalk streams restoration and stewardship programme to improve understanding, build capability, encourage support and secure funding to achieve additional improvements to UK chalk streams. Secure improved protected status designation for all chalk streams in the catchment.
Further information on the partnerships is available at: http://www.riverleacatchment.org.uk/index.php/london-lea-home
 
''Measures in the Wey catchment''
Catchment partnership(s): The Wey Landscape Partnership is made up of the Environment Agency, Natural England, relevant local authorities and utilities, the Wey Valley Fisheries Consultative Association, Surrey and Hampshire Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust, River Wey Trust and Northern Wey Trust. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are diffuse pollution from rural areas, barriers to natural fish movements and migration, and invasive non-native species.
Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021
 Guildford Borough Council’s Slyfield Area Regeneration project, incorporating re-location/upgrade of the local sewage treatment work and a major river flood plain restoration scheme at Burpham Court Farm on the Lower Wey (Shalford-Weybridge) water body, with significant improvements to multiple biodiversity elements as well as phosphate failures. Additional benefits include improved local flood alleviation and recreational opportunities.
 Several ongoing cross-catchment advisory projects will continue to operate throughout this cycle, including Wey RiverSearch (a voluntary river wardening project using trusted citizen science data collection techniques to inform, prioritise and implement local riparian habitat enhancement measures); as well as the Wey Diffuse Advice Project (land-use diffuse pollution risk-analysis and follow-up land-owner engagement). In total, £45,000 of the funding has come from government grant in aid.
Future aims
With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.
Additional measures with £100,000 per year:
 Implement Lower Wey Oxbow Restoration Project to reconnect former meanders to the main Wey river channel. This would enhance riparian habitats and restore river function on several heavily modified water bodies in the lower catchment, improving approximately 15 km of river.
 Wey Diffuse Advice Project throughout the catchment. This would greatly extend a proven mechanism of reducing the impacts of rural and urban diffuse pollution, thus helping resolve catchment-wide problems with high levels of pesticides, phosphates and sediments impacting on river life and public drinking water abstractions.
Additional measures with £1 million per year (as above plus the following):
 Major river flood plain restoration projects at Bishops Meadow and Snails Lynch on the North Wey in Farnham, and at Woking Palace on the Lower Wey. These would help improve fish, invertebrate and macrophyte communities; offer increased local flood alleviation; increase recreational opportunities; and contribute to local delivery of Biodiversity 2020 priority habitat restoration/creation targets and help tackle invasive non-native species.
 Fish passage mitigation projects on all key identified migratory barriers throughout the catchment, contributing directly to the local recovery of populations of threatened priority fish species, such as brown trout, Atlantic salmon and European eel, with associated recreational and fisheries provisioning benefits.
Further information on the partnership is available at: http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/what-we-do/living-landscapes/partnership-and-advocacy
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The Thames River Basin District covers an area of over 16,000 square kilometres. Its landscapes range from limestone hills to wide floodplains, from Chilterns chalk to the tidal River Thames and south Essex coastal marshes. The west of the district is mostly rural and it is very urban to the east where it is dominated by Greater London. The River Thames rises from the limestone at Thames Head in the Cotswolds and flows for over 350 kilometres to the North Sea at Shoeburyness. Many rivers and streams flow into the River Thames along its course. The Thames River Basin District has many significant wetland and wildlife sites, including chalk streams such as the River Kennet, Lambourn and Wandle. The coast has some of the greatest extents of salt marsh habitat in the country. Much of the estuarine and coastal area is recognised as protected areas, because of the rare habitats and species found there. The Thames Estuary is an important maritime trade centre, with a number of ports and docks along its length. These include the Port of London and the Medway port cluster including the docks at Chatham, Grain and Sheerness.


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Measures in the Cherwell catchment

Catchment partnerships: The Cherwell and Ray catchment partnership is hosted by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and consists of the Environment Agency, Natural England, Cherwell District Council, Banbury Town Council, Thames Water, the RSPB, Upper Thames Fisheries Consultative, and the National Farmers' Union (NFU). The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment, affecting both surface water and groundwater, are diffuse pollution from agricultural run-off, pollution from waste-water (including from sewage treatment works) and heavily modified channels. Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021

  • Cherwell: A project focusing on restoring a more natural river channel and fish passage through Spiceball Country Park in Banbury, a well-used public amenity, will result in improvements in the status of fish, invertebrates, macrophytes and sediment in the River Cherwell by 2021. It will also engage with local communities to raise awareness about sustainability, water quality and biodiversity.
  • Oxon Ray: A project to implement measures described following a walkover survey will reduce diffuse pollution and sediment input from agriculture.

Future aims With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year:

  • Cherwell: Action on the River Cherwell to create more backwaters between Banbury and Oxford, involving landowners, BBOWT and community groups. This will re-naturalise the river corridor, attenuate water flow and provide habitat for fish and invertebrate species. (If £100,000, one backwater; if more funding available then more sites will become possible).
  • Oxon Ray: Initiate landowner engagement and advisory programme similar to Catchment Sensitive Farming in the Ray catchment. This will reduce agricultural diffuse pollution and increase resilience to flooding events.
  • Cherwell: Action on River Cherwell to monitor and quantify abstraction issues with the Oxford Canal.

Additional measures with £1 million per year (as above plus the following):

  • Cherwell: Major infiltration project in the catchment, with involvement of Thames Water and the NFU, involving landscape interventions designed to increase surface water infiltration, increase water storage capacity and attenuate overland flow during peak rainfall events (with potential benefits for flood alleviation). This will help to resolve rural diffuse pollution and phosphate failures.
  • Oxon Ray: Major flood plain meadow restoration projects along the River Ray, re-connecting the flood plain and re-instating natural river features and riparian habitat. This will improve water quality and nutrient cycling, increase habitat for fish and invertebrates, provide ecosystem services and benefits for leisure, education and public access.


Measures in the Colne catchment

Catchment partnership: The Colne Catchment Action Network (ColneCAN) core group includes Affinity Water, Thames Water, Colne Valley Fisheries Consultative, Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Hertfordshire County Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Chilterns Conservation Board, Colne Valley Park, River Chess Association and the Environment Agency. The ColneCAN is working with many others to address the challenges in the catchment, an area of serious water stress and significant growth demands. Priority issues include changes to natural level and flow of water, pollution from waste water, transport infrastructure and rural areas, and the extent of physical modifications such as weirs and concrete channels.

Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021

To support ambitious abstraction reductions, Affinity Water will invest over £2,000,000 to improve river morphology and habitat, and undertake other improvements with local people and landowners. The work, together with Environment Agency investment of £190,000 in 2015/16 (raised from abstraction licence fees), will improve river function and resilience, which will secure public benefits and contribute to improved status of the Misbourne, Ver and Gade chalk rivers in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

With a £10,000 contribution from the Box Moor Trust (the riparian landowner), the partnership is supporting a £54,000 project to restore and enhance flood plain connectivity and river function of a 1km stretch of the river Bulbourne in Hertfordshire.

Future aims

With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines the projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding.

Additional measures with £100,000 per year:

  • Devise and implement phase 2 of the river Bulbourne restoration project to achieve a further 1km of improved water body.
  • Support a programme to produce or update flood modelling for priority water bodies in the catchment, in order to support and facilitate decision making for river restoration projects.
  • Establish a new programme, 'Weir today Gone tomorrow' to focus on removal or adaptation of modifications. Addressing a minimum of 3 barriers per year and opening up a minimum of 2km of impacted river per year to contribute to status/element level improvements.

Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):

  • Lead ‘Catching the Colne’, a programme to increase engagement and enjoyment of key sites along the Colne Valley, (River Colne and tributaries) improve access for local communities, and implement a minimum of 10km of river and riparian improvement per year.
  • Establish and co-lead a national chalk streams restoration and stewardship programme to build capability, encourage support and secure funding for additional improvements to UK chalk streams. Establish a chalk streams discovery centre on the River Chess to showcase and celebrate the water environment, and to secure interest and commitment towards chalk stream stewardship and improvement.

Further information on the partnership is available at: http://www.colnecan.org.uk/.

Measures in the Cotswold catchment

Catchment partnerships: Evenlode – hosted by Wild Oxfordshire with a group that includes the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Forestry Commission, West Oxfordshire District Council, Atkins, The Cotswolds Fly Fishers, Cotswolds Rivers Trust, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), Wychwood Project, Oxford University and the Sylva Foundation.

Windrush – hosted by BBOWT and consists of a similar mix of statutory organisations, non-government organisations, councils and local interest groups such as the Evenlode. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in both catchments, affecting both surface water and groundwater, are diffuse pollution from agricultural run-off, point source pollution and poor habitat.

Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021 

Evenlode - tackling rural diffuse pollution and impoundments to improve the status of fish, sediments and phosphate in the River Glyme. Engage in community-based actions to benefit water quality and biodiversity. 25% of the £100,000 project fund comes from government grant in aid. A Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme is being developed for a landscape-scale infiltration project.

Windrush - preventing rural diffuse pollution at source (for example, cattle poaching) and repairing associated bankside damage in the upper catchment will result in improvements in the status of fish, sediments and phosphate. A landscape-scale flood plain recovery project and a wetland creation project are being developed.

Future aims

With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year:

  • Evenlode - to mitigate remaining impoundments and re-naturalise the Glyme from Stratford Bridge to Glympton involving the local authority, landowners and community groups. This will join up restored areas and tackle rural diffuse pollution.
  • Evenlode - address barriers to fish passage and create in-channel habitat enhancements at Charlbury. This will help resolve failures in fish, invertebrate and macrophyte populations and improve amenity and recreational value.
  • Windrush - a fish passage and wetland creation project at the confluence of Great Brook and Thames; this will create a backwater refuge for fish and invertebrates and provide some additional flood storage capacity.
  • Windrush - further action to address rural diffuse pollution and channel damage.

Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following):

  • Evenlode - infiltration project, involving strategic woodland planting and other landscape interventions to attenuate overland flow during peak rainfall events (with potential benefits for flood alleviation and climate change resilience). It will tackle rural diffuse pollution and phosphate failures, and contribute to Biodiversity 2020 targets. It is part of a wider partnership project across the Upper Thames tributaries.
  • Windrush - major project to restore degraded ecosystems along the flood plain of the Thames from source to Oxford. It would target connectivity of riparian and aquatic habitats and contribute to improving flood management, water quality, soil quality and recreation. It would seek to establish more integrated environmental governance across the Upper Thames and promote further academic research.

Further information on the Windrush partnership is available at: mailto:info@bbowt.org.uk and for the Evenlode: mailto:hilary@wildoxfordshire.org.uk.

Measures in the Darent catchment Catchment partnership The Darent and Cray are co-hosted by the North West Kent Countryside Partnership (NWKCP) and the South East Rivers Trust (SERT). There are 2 Catchment Improvement Partnerships, one for the Darent and one for the Cray. Members of these include, Dartford Borough Council, Sevenoaks District Council, the London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley, Westerham Town Council, Farningham Parish Council, Kent Wildlife Trust, Thames21, the Environment Agency, Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the National Farmers' Union, Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Darent River Preservation Society, Dartford and District Angling Preservation Society, Kent Fisheries Consultative Association, Darent Valley Consortium, Darent and Cray Valley Catchment Consultative, West Kent Cycle Touring Club, the Darent Valley Trout Fishery, the Kent Fisheries Consultative Association and the Darent and Cray Catchment Consultative. The priority issues identified in the catchment are diffuse pollution, improve modified physical habitats, and invasive non-native species (INNS). Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021 

Thames21 River Keeper team will continue to provide community engagement and educational activities, which raise awareness of the importance of the Cray, its habitats and ecology. They will deliver habitat improvements within the river. Thames21 provides over £30,000 to the catchment per year.

NWKCP and SERT are working together on a £41,000 project to improve fish passage on the upper Darent. The creation of a bypass channel around a large structure will reconnect over 1.5km of the river near Sundridge.

Angling clubs will continue to provide habitat improvements to the river and lakes. Projects include reduction of shading, creation of low flow channels, pool and riffle features, artificial margins, and monitoring of invertebrates and water levels within the river. This voluntary work contributes over £20,000 to the catchment each year.

Future aims

With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year: 

Expansion of the INNS control programme focusing on both flora and fauna. Increasing the survey areas, treatments, provide training and develop a volunteer surveyor programme and providing an awareness raising campaign.
Development of Ecosystems Services projects to improve aquifer recharge.
Investigation and project development to reduce impacts of physical modifications such as the weirs at Hawley and Hall Place.

Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following): 

Improve opportunities for fish passage on large structures in the river and provision of extensive channel restoration.
Implement the Marlborough Park Master Plan, which includes reinstating meanders of the River Shuttle, re-profiling of the river banks and removal of hard engineering.
Reconnection of flood plain meadows to the river at Eynsford, working with local landowners to develop traditional grazing regimes and habitat management for the benefit of local wildlife and communities.

Further information on the partnership is available at: www.nwkcp.org/darent-and-cray-catchments. Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 5 Measures in the Gloucestershire and the Vale catchment Catchment partnerships: Upper Thames: The partnership is hosted by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and includes the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) and a broad and inclusive partnership made up of 210 members covering public, private and third sector organisations with an interest in the catchment. Ock: The partnership is hosted by the Freshwater Habitats Trust and includes the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Forestry Commission, Vale of White Horse District Council, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, Abingdon Naturalist Society, Ock Valley Flood Group, South Abingdon Flood Action Group, Upper Thames Fisheries Consultative, Oxford University and 3 independent expert ecologists. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in both catchments, affecting both surface water and groundwater, are rural diffuse pollution, point source pollution and poor habitat. Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021 

Upper Thames: The Water with Integrated Local Delivery (WILD - http://www.fwagsw.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/) project works with local communities, farmers and environmental groups to improve water quality, reduce flood risk and enhance biodiversity.
Ock: An in-channel, riparian and flood plain restoration project to improve the status of invertebrates in the Sandford Brook by 2021. Located in the town of Abingdon, it will also increase public access, provide recreational benefits and engage the local community to take ownership of their water environment through environmental monitoring and practical river and flood plain restoration days.

Future aims With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year: 

Upper Thames: To continue to roll out the implementation of the Community Guide to the Water Environment (http://www.acre.org.uk/cms/resources/comm-guides/communityguidewater.pdf) to engage land managers and communities in delivering integrated water management, increase resilience and deliver multiple benefits for the water environment, improving water quality and reducing flood risk.
Ock: Engage landowners to adjust land management through land use models to reduce flood risk, diffuse pollution, taking into account the effect of sewage treatment work (STW) improvements. Take an upstream to downstream approach and protect and build out from the freshwater, standing water and wetland ‘hot-spot’ locations.

Additional measures with £1000,000 per year (as above plus the following): 

Upper Thames: To test and implement innovative solutions to pollution from STW and land management in order to reduce the impact of rural diffuse pollution and point source pollution. Prioritising coordinated action to enhance river habitats and increase the natural resilience (for example, non-native invasive species) across the whole river system.
Ock: Extend downstream existing river ‘hot-spot’ sections, create water quality buffers around key freshwater and wetland sites, build out from protected grassland habitats (for example, Thames flood plain), implement measures for species of conservation concern and install clean water ponds and wetlands across the catchment.

Further information on the partnership is available at: Upper Thames: http://www.fwagsw.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/esters-page/ Ock: http://www.freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/

Measures in the Kennet catchment Catchment partnership: The Kennet catchment partnership is hosted by Action for the River Kennet and includes representatives from the local community, Atkins, the Canal and Rivers Trust, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Environment Agency, the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, the Kennet and Pang Fishery Action Plan Stakeholder Group, Kennet Valley Fishery Association, Natural England (NE), Reading and District Angling Association, Thames Water and West Berkshire District Council. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are interrelated and are nutrients, sediments and algal growth; channel modification and degradation of habitats; and pressures from abstractions within the catchment. Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021 

Significant habitat restoration and fish passage projects are underway and planned in the Middle Kennet and Lambourn. These will improve fish populations and improve hydromorphology by reducing the impact of impoundments. Funded by combination of the Environment Agency, NE and private funds.
Small scale restoration projects in the middle and lower Kennet with volunteer input are joining the gaps between significant scale habitat restoration works.
Projects working with farmers to reduce nitrate and phosphate pollution are underway and planned in the Middle Kennet and tributaries with funding from NE and the Environment Agency bolstered by additional funding and ‘in kind’ assistance from partners.
Public outreach projects (for example, Yellow Fish and ‘You poo too’) to reduce pollution from sewers and roads are underway for the entire catchment.
Water efficiency projects ‘Care for the Kennet’ are helping households to use less water in the Upper and Middle Kennet.
A cross catchment partnership project, funded by Defra, will improve understanding of the impact of septic tanks and develop ways to reduce pollution from them.
Urban habitat restoration and fish easements to address low fish populations are planned for the Lower Kennet.
Continue to work with Thames Water on abstraction issues in the Kennet, including the construction of pipeline from Axford to Swindon to be completed in 2016.

Future aims With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year: 

complete the Upper Kennet Habitat Restoration Plan projects
implement a Lower Kennet Habitat Restoration plan to bring the poorest water bodies to good status by resolving failures in fish, invertebrate and plant populations and improving amenity and recreational value
improve understanding of the relationship between water quality and algal growth and implement a plan to reduce the problems of algae and its impact on plants
agree a strategy for resolving the issue of the interaction between the Kennet and Avon canal and the River Kennet

Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following): 

improve water quality in Kennet and Avon canal to reduce its impact on the river
take actions to improve treated waste water from small point source inputs
review water management in the upper Kennet and improve water efficiency

For current information on the Kennet catchment partnership contact ARK: mailto:info@riverkennet.org and see the partnership website: www.kennetcatchment.org Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 7 Measures in the Loddon catchment Catchment partnership(s): The Loddon catchment partnership is formed of a steering group made up of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency, the Loddon Fisheries and Conservation Consultative, the Loddon Basin Flood Action Group, Affinity Water (also representing Thames Water and South East Water), Natural England, Hampshire County Council, Wokingham Borough Council, the National Farmers' Union, Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and the University of Reading. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are: 

habitat and biodiversity, including channel structure and function, barriers to fish passage, habitat management and flood plain connectivity
water quality. in particular phosphorus, sediment and pesticides
water quantity (flooding and abstraction)

Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021 

The Loddon Farm Advice Project focuses on rural diffuse pollution across the catchment. The project aims to improve the status of phosphate and fish in 3 water bodies by 2021 as well as reducing the impacts of pesticides on public drinking water abstractions. Currently 80% of the funding comes from government grant although alternative funding streams are being investigated. The cost of the measures will be in the region of £200,000 over 6 years.
Several projects currently in place include action to reduce the impact of invasive non-native species, raising awareness of riparian habitat management with landowners and holding an annual ‘Rivers Week’ to increase engagement with the public.
The Loddon catchment partnership is also involved in a joint project with other nearby partnerships to raise awareness of the issues of phosphorus from domestic waste water inputs and to address problems associated with septic tanks and misconnections contributing to algal blooms in the rivers.

Future aims With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year: 

carry out a River Whitewater structures and habitat improvement project to improve the status for fish in the River Whitewater
increase the scope of the Loddon Farm Advice Project to address rural diffuse pollution across the catchment to help protect public drinking water abstractions
work with the Loddon Basin Flood Action Group to develop flood mitigation projects that also deliver river basin management objectives
influence and encourage sustainable development for the water environment to aid climate change adaptation and mitigation
engage with communities to take ownership of their local water environment and provide education and training opportunities

Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following): 

Return water corridors in the Loddon catchment to a near natural state providing social, flood risk mitigation and biodiversity action plan habitat benefits.
Identify and reduce pollution in water bodies across the catchment, with the University of Reading developing tools for evaluation and planning. These will be used in the Loddon catchment and could also be made available for use in other catchments.

Further information on the partnership please email: mailto:Loddon.Catchment@hiwwt.org.uk Proposed update to Thames river basin management plan 8 Measures in the London – Beverley Brook catchment Catchment partnership The Beverley Brook Catchment Partnership is hosted by the South East Rivers Trust. The Steering Group is made up of the Environment Agency, The Royal Parks, Wimbledon Common Conservators, Friends of Barnes Common, London Boroughs of Richmond, Wandsworth, Sutton and Merton, Royal Borough of Kingston, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Thames21, London Wildlife Trust and Thames Water. The priority river basin management issues to tackle in this catchment are: 

poor water quality due to diffuse pollution from road run-off and misconnected pipes
high phosphate levels originating from effluent from the sewage treatment works
physical modifications that have been made to the river leading to a uniform channel with poor hydromorphological and habitat diversity

Contribution to environmental outcomes for 2021 A project to enhance the Beverley Brook through Richmond Park has been funded by the Environment Agency’s Environment Programme, the Catchment Partnership Action Fund, Friends of Richmond Park and other sources. This project will enhance river habitat throughout the park with the creation of a backwater, bank softening, 500m of in-channel improvements and measures to control the impacts from deer and dogs. The project also aims to improve water quality by working on outfalls to reduce silt and other contaminants entering the river. Future aims With additional funding even more could be achieved. The following outlines projects and outcomes that could be realised with additional partnership funding. Additional measures with £100,000 per year: 

Habitat and hydromorphological enhancements throughout the Beverley Brook and its tributaries to support fish, plant and invertebrate populations as well as enhance natural processes and ecosystem resilience. Measures include removal of redundant bank reinforcements, bank softening, tree management, installation of woody material, backwater creation and reconnection with the flood plain. Key locations include Barnes Common, Vine Road Recreation Ground, Leaders Gardens, Palewell Common, Richmond Park (additional to the above), Wimbledon Common, Malden Park Golf Course, Beverley Park, Worcester Park, and Morden Cemetery as well as Motspur Park and Morden Park on the Pyl Brook tributary.
Locally targeted campaigns to raise awareness among domestic properties and businesses about misconnections, only flushing water down sinks and drains, and promoting water efficiency measures.

Additional measures with £1,000,000 per year (as above plus the following): 

Retrofitting of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and other water management measures throughout the catchment to improve water quality and reduce the flashy nature of the river due to high volumes of run-off.
Control and reduce road run-off through the installation of sediment interceptors, such as hydrodynamic vortex chambers, on all surface water drains.
Full river restoration through Richmond Park, Beverley Park and Barnes Common.
Fish passage enhancement at Horne Way Weir through full removal with re-routing the sewer pipe or low flow fish passage enhancement measures.

Further information on the partnership is available at: The South East Rivers Trust (SERT)



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http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/river-basin-management-plans Information about river basin districts, catchments, water bodies and the river basin management planning process


http://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/portal/ho/wfd/draft plans/consult This consultation is now closed - This was the third and final of three consultations, inviting comment on draft updates to river basin management plans to protect and improve the water environment

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Link back to the main England background information: Country info:England - background information

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