1

Farming and drinking

water

Alister Leggatt

Catchment Officer

Affinity Water

Farm Business Update

30th January 2014

2

Farming and drinking

water

• Water quality update

• Role for catchment approaches

• Current initiatives

• What does it mean for you?

3

Water company water supply areas

Anglian Water –

• 4.3m customers

Essex & Suffolk Water –

• 1.8m customers

Affinity Water –

• 3.3m customers

Cambridge Water –

• 315,000 customers

4

Water company obligations

• To supply ‘wholesome’ water

• Meet stringent drinking water

quality standards

• Find a balance of solutions for

each affected treatment works, at

a cost acceptable to customers

and economic regulator

5

Where are we now?

Key water quality issues

• Pesticides – metaldehyde,

• OSR herbicides including

propyzamide, carbetamide and

quinmerac

• Nutrients – nitrate, phosphorus

• Sediment

6

Where are we now?

7

Where are we now?

8

The role for catchment approaches?

• Will need to use all available options

• Treatment –

• Ion exchange (nitrate removal)

• Ozonation & Granular Activated Carbon (GAC)

• Abstraction management –

• Limited scope

• Blending –

• Nitrates, pesticides

• Catchment management……….

9

Current initiatives / projects

• Safeguard Zones

• Possible mitigation measures

• Risk mapping

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Safeguard Zones

• Areas where land use

is known to reduce

water quality in rivers

and groundwater used

for drinking water

supply

• Actions targeted to

improve water quality

• www.wiyby.co.uk

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Possible mitigation measures

Cultural controls Responsible use

Reduce usage

Reduced a i formulations Non-metaldehyde products

Bunded sprayer filling areas, inc. biobeds/biofilters

Rural SuDS Buffer strips Instream treatment

WRc report – Oct 2013

12

Slug trapping

Traps key to assessing risk

and need for pellets

HGCA Topic Sheets on Integrated

Slug Control:

• Winter Wheat No.84

• Winter Oil Seed Rap No.85

Actions for Winter OSR:

• Trap to assess slug activity just before, or after, cereal harvest

• Use trap catches, weather and cultivation data to assess slug

damage risk

• Cultivate to reduce risk of slug attack

• If risk is high, broadcast slug pellets as soon as possible after

drilling

• Monitor crops throughout the early susceptible growth stages

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Risk mapping

• Field scale risk –

• Soil type

• Slope

• Distance from water

• Modification of advice and

metaldehyde use in high risk

areas

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What does this mean for you?

• Check if your farm is in a drinking water catchment

– www.wiyby.co.uk

• Follow Tried & Tested, MSG & VI best practice advice

– www.nutrientmanagement.org www.getpelletwise.org.uk

– www.voluntaryinitiative.org.uk

• Consider field by field risk on your farm –

• Test slug pressure by trapping

• High run-off risk = cracking clay soils, under-drains, sloping

fields, bordered by ditches & watercourses

• Consider additional measures in highest risk fields

• Don’t forget the farmyard

• CSF / Water Company Advisor help available

15

Thank you for listening

Any questions?

Contacts:

Anglian Water – Simon Eyre – seyre@anglianwater.co.uk

Essex & Suffolk Water – Claire Lorenc – claire.lorenc@nwl.co.uk

Affinity Water – Alister Leggatt - alister.leggatt@affinitywater.co.uk