August 2012
Frome & Piddle Catchment Initiative
Introduction
Wessex is hosting a Catchment Pilot on behalf of Defra and the Environment Agency to deliver catchment
improvements in the Rivers Frome and Piddle in Dorset.
The initiative was set up in November 2011 with a Project Officer, Neil Punchard and a steering group of
representatives from partners including the Environment Agency, Dorset Wildlife Trust, the Frome, Piddle and West
Dorset Fisheries Association and Westcountry Rivers Trust, FWAGSW, Natural England, Council and farming
representatives. A launch was held in February 2012, introducing the project to about a hundred interested people.
The project aim is to improve the health of our local waters in the Frome & Piddle catchment and achieve statutory
environmental standards for the benefit of both wildlife and users of these waters. The condition of these rivers also
affects the quality of Poole Harbour, itself a site of European importance for wildlife, as well as being important for
fishing, recreation and transport.
Progress to date?
Since February we have been building up evidence on the state of the environment and finding out which issues are
of wide concern. Aquatic plants, invertebrate communities and particularly fish, fail to meet European targets and
the River Frome and Poole Harbour Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are not in favourable condition due to
a range of factors, including nutrient levels. Fortunately this catchment has many good partnership projects working
to resolve these problems.
Why do we need another
project?
The legal protection for these rivers and
Poole Harbour means that there are
several plans already in place to
improve the water quality, flows and
level, the river channel and it’s wildlife.
There are also new partnerships such
as
the
Wild
Purbeck
Nature
Improvement Area. By looking at all the
issues
which
affect
the
water
environment at once and working with
local organisations and landowners, we
can share information and develop
solutions which deliver the best all round
result at least cost. We can also avoid
conflicting proposals in the various
plans.
What are the main issues that we found?
Working together we have identified five main areas of concern:
 High levels of nitrate – in groundwater, rivers and Poole Harbour where algae mats develop
 High levels of phosphate - in the upper sections of rivers where it affects the natural vegetation
 High levels of fine sediment- which affects salmon and trout spawning
 The unnatural river channel shape, modified for agriculture, flood defence and milling - which affects all wildlife
including fish.
 Water quantity - both excess flows in floods and low flows in some stretches and channels.
August 2012
What’s next?
Working groups were formed to look at
each of the areas of concern. These
groups have provided evidence of the
problems, the causes and what work is
already being done to resolve them.
We need to agree a Catchment
Management Plan to coordinate the
actions needed to get these rivers into
ideal condition. Defra have set us a target
of December 2012 to complete the Plan. It
will contribute to the next South West
River Basin Management Plan which is
being prepared by the Environment
Agency to meet European legislation.
We have developed a framework for the Plan based on the finding of the 5 working groups.
It comprises:
 An Executive Summary
 A framework of information about the catchment, the data and the projects underway
 A draft action plan and potential solutions matrix.
We propose to use this framework to engage with the partners and those people directly involved in managing the
land and rivers to develop practical and innovative solutions to the concerns identified. These views will contribute
to the Catchment Management Plan which will be published in December by the steering group.
Programme
Programme
Produce draft catchment plan framework
Engage farming and riparian residents on the plan
Identify additional work needed to understand problems
Launch costed Catchment Management Plan
Optimise existing funded delivery
Start additional schemes
Review plan and update based on the further investigations
Implement newly funded water company schemes
Date
August 2012
September 2012
October 2012
December 2012
2012 onwards
April 2013
December 2013
2015 onwards
Funding
The project has been funded by the Environment Agency, Wessex Water and Defra with partners generously
contributing time and information. Working in partnership will help organisations secure funding in future from
government sources such as the Defra Catchment Restoration Fund and will also assist in the delivery of advice to
landowners for funding sources such as the England Woodland Grant Scheme.
Wessex Water:
Environment Agency:
Natural England:
Website
Contacts
Neil.punchard@wessexwater.co.uk
Russell.spencer@environment-agency.gov.uk
Douglas.kite@naturalengland.org.uk
http://www.wessexwater.co.uk/environment/threecol.aspx?id=7525