INDEX
CONSULTATIONS
UK NEWS
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
PROJECTS
PUBLICATIONS
Events
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
CONSULTATIONS
Working Together to deliver river basin management
Environment Agency Consultation – FINAL 4 WEEKS
(Updated 28 November 2012)
In December 2009, the Environment Agency published river basin management plans covering all of England and Wales that outlined what would be done to protect and improve the environment. The Environment Agency is now working to review and update them and will publish the revised plans in December 2015.
The Environment Agency wants to make sure that everyone can have the opportunity to contribute. By creating successful ways to work together, we can develop and put into practice the best solutions. The Environment Agency would like to know how different groups could work together to achieve this.
There is a consultation document for each river basin district and one for England and Wales. The England and Wales Working Together consultation document has been specifically designed to help those who would like to make comments that apply equally across one or more of the river basin districts. It includes consultation questions that are common to all the river basin district consultation documents. There is also the option to comment on a specific river basin district by selecting the one you are interested in.
The consultation is open until 22nd December 2012.
To view the consultation documents and for information on how to respond visit the Environment Agency website:
(https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/portal/ho/wfd/working/together2012)
consumer council for water consultation: draft forward
work programme for england and wales 2013-2016
(Posted 28 November 2012)
The Consumer Council for Water is requesting input and views on their plans to represent water consumers’ views over the next three years. The deadline for submissions is 11 January 2013.
To view the consultation documents and for information on how to respond visit the Consumer Council for Water website:
(http://www.ccwater.org.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.2588)
tackling water pollution from the urban environment
Defra Consultation
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Defra are seeking views on developing their strategy for the management of urban diffuse water pollution in England. This form of diffuse pollution in rivers and waterways is a typical characteristic of urban areas where road runoff, poorly plumbed drainage systems, old deposits of polluted sediment, and runoff from industrial areas damage ecosystems in rivers, streams and ponds. The impacts may be individually small but can be damaging when added together. Normal measures to permit and control polluters often cannot be used, as it can be difficult to identify those responsible and difficult to be fair in deciding who should pay to resolve issues.
Currently, 27% of water bodies in England meet the standards necessary to support viable ecosystems. Many water body failures are due to urban and other non-agricultural diffuse pollution where Defra believes their positive action is necessary to improve knowledge, encourage cooperation, perhaps refine regulations and plan investment. Cleaning-up polluted urban rivers should deliver significant benefits by making our towns and cities more attractive, healthy places for people and wildlife, and will contribute towards the Government’s growth and localism agenda.
This consultation allows you to inform and influence development of the strategy that will be developed in 2013. It explains some background to the problem and Defra’s initial understanding of the types and importance of urban diffuse water pollution sources. The document explains how a number of initiatives and policies are being deployed to tackle the problem.
Defra invite views from all interested parties. The consultation is open until 8 February 2013.
Downloads of the consultation letter, document and the consultee list, plus the ‘How to Respond’ link, are available at:
(http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2012/11/20/water-pollution/)
strategic policy statement to OFWAT, incorporating social and environmental guidance
Defra Consultation
(Posted 28 November 2012)
As the independent economic regulator for the water industry, the decisions taken by Ofwat can have significant impacts on the economy, society and the environment. In recognition of this, Ofwat has been given clear statutory duties to protect the interests of consumers; whilst ensuring that efficient water companies can carry out and finance their functions; and to exercise its powers in a way best calculated to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.
It is the Government’s responsibility to set the strategic framework and policy priorities within which economic regulators such as Ofwat operate.
The Strategic Policy Statement sets out the priorities which Ofwat should keep under review and requires them to report on the steps they have taken in response to this steer. The document incorporates Social and Environmental Guidance that sets out more specific priorities under a range of themes that Ofwat should have regard to. This also provides guidance to Ofwat on fulfilling their sustainable development duty.
The document reflects the Government’s vision for the water sector set out in the Water White Paper: HYPERLINK "http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/water/legislation/whitepaper/" Water for Life. This identified the challenge of increased water scarcity due to climate change and demographic trends, and highlighted an increased emphasis on resilience, long term planning and customer choice. This guidance relates to England only.
Defra invite views on this document from all interested parties. The consultation is open until 10 December 2012.
Downloads of the consultation letter, document and the consultee list, plus the ‘How to Respond’ link, are available at:
(http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2012/11/12/ofwat-sps-seg/)
UK NEWS
(Posted 28 November 2012)
olympic star joins ‘Love Your River’ campaign
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Gold medal-winning rower James Cracknell has joined the ‘Love Your River’ campaign as an advisor. The campaign, highlighting the link between river health and water use so that people value their local river, was launched in March 2012 by Environment Minister Richard Benyon. It is a partnership between Defra, the National Trust, the Environment Agency, the Wildlife Trusts, Keep Britain Tidy and others.
Information on the ‘Love Your River’ campaign is available on the Defra website:
(http://www.defra.gov.uk/loveyourriver/)
water industry receives funding of more thaN £2.5m from the government for R & D
(Posted 28 November 2012)
This money has been given to deliver innovative collaborative projects that aim to safeguard future water supplies. The projects will address overseas and UK water security challenges by creating a new technology or process that will either save or recycle 1 billion litres of water per day. If contributions from participating companies are included, the total cost of the projects is in excess of £5.6m.
(Posted 28 November 2012)
This is the new name for the Thames Rivers Restoration Trust. The Trust is an environmental charity dedicated to improving the River Thames and its tributaries to benefit people, wildlife and water quality.
The new website is at:
(http://www.thamesriverstrust.org.uk)
natural resources wales (cyfoeth naturiol cymru)
(Posted 28 November 2012)
This is the name of the new body that will replace the Environment Agency Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and Forestry Commission Wales.
Professor Peter Matthews is the Chair, Dr Emyr Roberts is the Chief Executive and ten non-executive directors have been appointed. Work will now continue to ensure that Natural Resources Wales is ready to launch on 1 April 2013.
(http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/environmentandcountryside/2012/121025bodynamed/?lang=en)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
wiki-style river restoration website launched
(Posted 28 November 2012)
This website enables the collation and sharing of information on river restoration projects across Europe. River Wiki is an interactive source of information, the database presently holding 282 river restoration case studies from 24 countries. It is hoped that by sharing and being able to comment on the information, ideas for best practice on river restoration will quickly emerge.
To view the website visit:
(http://riverwiki.restorerivers.eu/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page)
european innovation partnership on water
(Posted 28 November 2012)
The overall objective is to support and facilitate the development of innovative solutions to deal with the many water-related challenges Europe and the world are facing, as well as to support economic growth by bringing such solutions to the market. At the same time, innovations are considered to be an important tool to develop adequate and state-of-the-art European water policy.
The EIP on Water will centre on removing barriers to innovation and connecting the supply and demand sides of water-related innovations. Activities will be structured around challenges in the areas of urban water management, rural water management and industrial water management in addition to addressing cross-cutting themes.
The kick-off meeting was held on 4 September 2012; the operational phase will start in early 2013.
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/innovationpartnership/index_en.htm)
european commission presents blueprint to safeguard europe’s waters
(Posted 28 November 2012)
The Commission has launched a strategy for ensuring that enough good quality water is available to meet the needs of people, the economy and the environment. To achieve the WFD objective of good water status by 2015, the Water Blueprint sets out a three-tier strategic approach:
The Blueprint does not put forward a “one size fits all” but proposes a tool box that member states can use to improve water management at national, regional and river basin levels.
To consult the document online, click on the link:
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/blueprint/index_en.htm)
PROJECTS
evaluation of the catchment-based approach
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Over the past nine months, a team led by Cascade Consulting has been working for Defra to undertake an independent evaluation of the pilot phase of the catchment-based approach. So far this has been focused on the initial 25 pilot catchments but there are a further 41 catchment projects being studied to which Defra awarded a small amount of money. A workshop will be held in January 2013 at which those involved in these further pilot projects will be able to share learning points from their experiences and discuss their observations with others.
(http://www.catchmentchange.net/pilot-catchments/)
droughts could harm river life (University of birmingham)
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Critically low water levels in many rivers could lead to the partial collapse of food chains that support aquatic life, according to research led by the University of Birmingham published in the journal Nature Climate Change. This is the conclusion from one of the longest experiments on drought ever conducted in freshwaters. The team periodically lowered water flow in artificial streams, mimicking severe drought conditions in natural running waters. They found that drought changed the make-up of the invertebrate life in the stream community and reduced its diversity by around 25%. It was discovered that drought had negative effects on large bodied invertebrates, an important food source for fish, which has significant implications for fisheries.
(http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1684.html)
research team taking the fight to water toxins caused by algal blooms (University of Ulster)
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Scientists at the University of Ulster are looking into using the process of photocatalysis (using titanium dioxide and natural sunlight) to destroy water toxins caused by algal blooms. The technique has worked successfully under laboratory conditions, but the team need to understand more about the mechanism by which it works before going further.
(http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2012/6584.html)
PUBLICATIONS
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Research into water is growing faster than the average 4% annual growth rate for all research disciplines, claims a new report by Elsevier. The report, The Water and Food Nexus: Trends and Development of the Research Landscape, analysed the major trends in water and food-related article output at international, national and institutional levels. It examines the dynamics of global water research between 2007 and 2011, focusing on two strands of research: water resources research, referring to natural and social science studies on water use; and food and water research, focusing on the study of water consumption and recycling to produce food.
Research output is the highest in the United States in both water resources, and food and water research, but growth between 2007 and 2011 is low. However, China is experiencing ongoing growth in water research output and, if its trajectory continues, it could be the leading producer of water research within the next few years.
The report is available to download at:
WSKEP eZine - Issue 5 now available online
The Water Security Knowledge Exchange Programme (WSKEP)
Published October 2012
(Posted 28 November 2012)
WSKEP is a long-term initiative funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The aim is to accelerate the uptake of research and help inform the direction of future science to ensure sustainable use of our water in the future. For more details see also the key article in our Summer 2012 FWR Newsletter.
For more details visit the WSKEP website:
(http://www.wskep.net/ezine/default.php)
Euro-Mediterranean Information System on the know-how in the Water Sector
EMWIS Flash, October 2012, Issue 104
(Posted 28 November 2012)
EMWIS is an initiative of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. It provides a strategic tool for exchanging information and knowledge in the water sector between and within the Euro-Mediterranean partnership countries. The countries involved are:
The 27 EU member states
The 10 Mediterranean Partner Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey)
For more information on EMWIS and to download the flash news:
(http://www.semide.net/thematicdirs/eflash/flash104)
Ecologic Newsletter no 118, september 2012 and No 119, october 2012
(Posted 28 November 2012)
The Ecologic Institute is an international think-tank for environment and development. The September issue of their newsletter includes reports on new publications: Rio+20: Financial Resources for Improved International Environmental Governance; Quality Requirements for Sustainability Evaluations; No Money for Greed in Fisheries and Farms. The October issue includes coverage of new publications: Science-Policy Interface and the Role of Impact Assessment in the Case of Biofuels; Yearbook Ecology 2013. Downloads of the following studies are available: The Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the EU; Climate Change Financing – Study for the European Parliament.
The newsletters are available for download at the Ecologic website:
(http://ecologic.eu/newsletter)
The Rivers Trust
August e-Newsletter, No. 23
(Posted 17 August 2012)
The “Association of River Trusts” for England and Wales was launched in 2001 following extensive consultation with existing charitable rivers trusts and other related interests.
The organisation changed its name to "The Rivers Trust" on 2 August 2011.
The newsletter is available at:
(http://www.theriverstrust.org/newsletter/enews_23/The_Rivers_Trust_E-Newsletter_23.html)
the catchment based approach Newsletter
Issue 4, November 2012
(Posted 28 November 2012)
There are now two main work streams covering the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA). The work of the pilots and the evaluation of their progress is well established and underway; in addition to this, work on the wider adoption process started in September, and ideas were collected from a wide range of stakeholders at the October CaBA meeting in Leeds.
Defra aim to make clear the position with regard to existing pilot projects shortly, with decisions on wider adoption by March 2013.
The Newsletter includes news on catchment sensitive farming, the latest classification results from the EA and results from a study of diffuse pollution from agriculture.
Bob Earll, working with CIWEM, has edited this Newsletter on behalf of Defra, the Environment Agency and Cascade Consulting. If you want to be included on the mailing list please contact:
STREAM (Sustainable Technologies and Research for European Aquatic Management)
Stream Newsletter, 6th Issue, September 2012 now online
(Posted 28 November 2012)
STREAM is an EU project funded under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), DG Research, Environment. It runs from 01/01/2011 to 31/12/2012. The project aims to raise awareness on state-of-the-art water technologies research and to interest policy makers and potential users through a diversified series of dissemination and communication actions tailored to the needs of the different categories of stakeholders: researchers, policy makers, industry and SMEs.
The September issue contains news from STREAM and from other projects; there are also details of the final joint conference for STREAM and STEP-WISE to be held 3-4 December 2012 in Brussels.
STREAM newsletters are available to download from:
(http://www.stream-project.eu/newsletters)
DWI research newsletter
Issue 6, 6 July 2012
(Posted 17 August 2012)
The DWI Research newsletters provide a brief summary of recent outputs of the DWI research programme and the areas under consideration for future research. This issue includes a summary of research reports on:
To download the newsletter visit the DWI website:
(http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/research/newsletter/index.htm)
EEA Catchments and Rivers Network System – ECRINS v1.1
Technical report No 7/2012
Published by EEA (European Environment Agency), July 18, 2012
ISBN 978-92-9213-254-5
(Posted 17 August 2012)
Europe’s freshwater supplies are under pressure. To improve the understanding and management of water resources, the EEA has created a comprehensive series of map layers showing hydrological features. The tool, providing support to policy makers, spans river catchments from Iceland to the edge of the Persian Gulf. The ECRINS package is available to anyone, including European institutions, national water agencies, scientists, businesses, students and NGOs active in environmental assessments. Users need GIS (Geographic Information System) software to access the map layers.
Full text of the news release is available at the EEA website:
(http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/ecrins-map-project-pinpoints-water)
To download the report:
(http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea-catchments-and-rivers-network)
Events
drought – how resilient are we?
UK Groundwater Forum Annual Conference
13 – 14 June 2012, Keyworth, UK
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Until the recent rainfall events, the previous 18 months of below average rainfall meant that groundwater levels were amongst the lowest on record. With climate change modelling suggesting that there may be an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts in the future, is this a sign of things to come and a reminder of how vulnerable our water resources may be? Drought resilience was therefore the subject for this annual conference, held in conjunction with NERC WSKEP (Water Security Knowledge Exchange Programme).
The presentations can be found at:
(http://www.groundwateruk.org/Drought-how-resilient-are-we.aspx)
farming and water: questions for the future
ciwem-wskep-cms Event
6 June 2012
(Posted 28 November 2012)
How water is managed is becoming an increasingly important issue for discussion amongst politicians as well as the water and agricultural industries. Population growth, climate change impacts, and the tightening of regulation to achieve sustainable management are increasing the pressure and competition for available water resources. Many water and farming issues are long standing and clearly require more integrated solutions that meet the needs of society and farmers. This conference took an in-depth look at key farming and water issues.
Summary points of the conference are available at:
(http://www.ciwem.org/events/conference-outputs.aspx)
stakeholders, next generation models, and risk in managing catchment change
Catchment Change Network 2012 International Conference
25 – 27 June 2012, Lancaster, UK
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Over the past three years the Catchment Change Network (CCN) has organised a programme of workshops and meetings to discuss and develop guidelines for incorporating risk and uncertainty into the management of catchment change in the areas of flood risk, water security and diffuse pollution. This final international conference presented the progress made in CCN and other projects during this time. A particular focus was on the research needs in both modelling the impacts of change at scales of implementation and on stakeholder involvement in the management process.
Presentations are available at:
(http://www.catchmentchange.net/about/ccn-annual-conference/)
payments for ecosystem services and catchment restoration
The Rivers Trust EU Water Conference
27 June 2012, Exeter, UK
(Posted 28 November 2012)
Payments for Ecosytem Services (PES) are an increasingly topical mechanism for investing in the restoration of river catchments. The WATER project was set up to investigate the role of wet land within a catchment, identifying the assessment, techniques and economics of restoration. This conference set out the two main objectives of the project: a catchment portal that identifies the different brokers working across our rivers; and a series of guides aimed at setting up PES projects. This was followed by a review of the work achieved to date and the monitoring systems put in place to measure the impacts, together with a review of the future of the scheme in light of the Natural Environment White Paper.
A downloadable 24 page guide to ‘WATER – Restoring river catchment function using payments for ecosystem services’ is available from:
(http://www.theriverstrust.org/seminars/archive/index.html)
nordic water 2012: catchment restoration and water protection
XXVII Nordic Hydrology Conference
13 – 15 August 2012, Oulu, Finland
(Posted 28 November 2012)
The main conference theme ‘Catchment restoration and water protection’ included the following sub-themes: climate and hydrology; groundwater systems; land-use, hydrology and water quality; catchment and river restoration; ecological and hydrological effects of catchment restoration.
Papers from the conference can be found at:
delivering sustainable coasts
North West Coastal Forum
18 – 20 September 2012, Southport, UK
(Posted 28 November 2012)
SUSTAIN is a pan-European project aimed at developing a universal tool to deliver sustainability on Europe’s coasts, involving 12 partners from 11 member states. It has run for three years from 2010 to December 2012. The project aims to strengthen operational policy on the coast and is being led by Sefton Council in England, joined by the North West Coastal Forum as external experts.
The programme and presentations from the final conference can be seen at:
(http://www.nwcoastalforum.org.uk/projects/current-projects/sustain/)