Preview of the Draft River Basin Management Plan SERBD Advisory Council September 2008.

Preview of the Draft River Basin Management Plan

SERBD Advisory Council

September 2008

Overview of Plan Steps

• STEP 1 - What Causes Our Water Problems?• We need to know which issues are causing problems,

the waters where we should focus on these issues and what actions we could take to solve them. We have investigated the risks to our waters and their possible solutions.

Plan Development

• STEP 2 - How Healthy Are Our Waters?• We need to measure the condition of our

waters so that we know where they are healthy and where they must be improved. We have begun comprehensive monitoring to provide results for new schemes so that we can classify the status of our waters.

Plan Development

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• STEP 3 - What Do We Plan to Achieve?• Once we know the condition of our

waters and the causes of their problems we have to set sustainable goals, or objectives; this means deciding what standards we need our waters to achieve, in balance with what uses and special interests we need them to support.

Plan Development

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• STEP 4 - What Actions Must We Take?• The Water Framework Directive

stipulates some basic measures we have to take to manage our waters. We have identified actions under these basic measures, setting out existing and new plans and programmes to ensure full and effective implementation.

Plan Development

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• STEP 4 - What Actions Must We Take?• Bathing Waters

• Birds and Habitats

• Drinking Waters

• Major Accidents

• Environmental Impact Assessment

• Sewage Sludge

• Urban Wastewater Treatment

• Plant Protection Products

• Nitrates

• Integrated Pollution Prevention Control

Plan Development

• STEP 4 - What Actions Must We Take?• Cost recovery for water use and promotion of efficient and

sustainable water use • Protection of drinking water sources • Abstraction and impoundment control • Point source and diffuse source discharges control • Authorisation of discharges to groundwaters • Priority substances control • Controls on physical modifications to surface waters • Controls on other activities impacting on water status • Prevention or reduction of the impact of accidental pollution incidents

Plan Development

• STEP 5 - What Will Basic Measures Achieve?

• We need to identify how far the basic measures will take us towards achieving our objectives. We have assessed how effective these measures will be and identified cases where extra effort may be needed to improve our waters.

Plan Development

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• STEP 6 - What Further Actions Can We Take?

• We need to identify supplementary measures that can go further than the basic measures to deal with any remaining problems in targeted waters. Alternative actions have to be tested to select ones that are feasible and of significant benefit.

• SEA on the wider environmental impact of supplementary measures.

Plan Development

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• STEP 7 - What will Supplementary Measures Achieve?

• Again we need to review how far the basic plus the supplementary measures will take us towards achieving our objectives. In some cases, even after considering every possible action, we may not be able to restore waters and objectives must be refined.

Plan Development

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• STEP 8 - Our Objectives in the South Eastern District

• We have set out the particular waters in the South Eastern District where we have proposed alternative objectives. The timescales for achieving improvements in our waters are also demonstrated.

Plan Development

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• STEP 9 - Our Plan for the South Eastern District

• The outcome of this planning process is an action programme for the South Eastern District to achieve these improvements. We have proposed a detailed action plan setting out what, where and when actions are needed and who will do them.

Plan Development

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Status and Objectives

• Enable protected areas to achieve their stricter status standards

• Drinking Water Abstractions• Economically significant species (shellfish) • Recreational and bathing waters• Nutrient sensitive areas (nitrates & UWWTD sensitive areas)• Protected habitats and species (FPM)

• Basic measures must achieve these objectives in all protected area cases by 2015 (no derogations)

Objective 1

• Prevent deterioration, and in particular maintain high or good status

• Basic measures - entail existing/proposed prior authorisation or registration for point and diffuse source discharges and abstractions and morphology

• Provided that WFD objectives are reflected in linked plans and programmes (particularly development and land-use plans) this should provide protection against deterioration in status in all cases

Objective 2

• Improve waters where appropriate to achieve at least good standards

• What will full implementation of the basic measures will achieve?

• 4.5% increase in unpolluted waters over 3 most recent 3-year cycles – NAP only recently introduced

• Alternative supplementary measures will need to be considered for our key water pressures to restore status

• The measures must be technically feasible and cost-effective• The pressures will be identified from POMS studies

Objective 3

• Progressively reduce chemical pollution• Achieved through establishment of basic measures:• surface water objectives requiring pollution reduction

programmes• ground water objectives requiring pollution reduction

programmes

• Basic measures provide adequately for this objective with supporting supplementary actions under the pollution reduction programmes

Objective 4

Ecological Status - Lakes

Overall Objectives - Lakes

Ecological Status - Transitional

Overall Objectives - Transitional

Ecological Status - Coastal

Overall Objectives - Coastal

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Wastewater, Industry & Other Point Sources

• Reduce loading by introduction of P free products

• Reduce collection system loading by installing sustainable urban drainage systems

• Wastewater collection system upgrade

• Wastewater treatment plant upgrade/provision

• Wastewater treatment outfall relocation

• Introduce Best Available Techniques (BAT) for industrial discharges

• Undertake remediation projects for prioritised landfills, quarries, mines and contaminated lands

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Agriculture• Creation of fenced buffer strip • Set aside of agricultural lands • Targeting farmyard management system upgrades• Targeting rural environmental protection schemes• Requiring stricter storage or closed periods than the GAP Regs • Reducing agricultural intensity • Requiring Nutrient Management Planning • Digestors in areas of nutrient surplus• Tankering in areas of nutrient surplus

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Unsewered Properties• Reduce system loading by using P free products• Targeting on-site systems inspection and de-

sludging • Targeting on-site systems inspection and upgrade • Connection of areas to municipal systems

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Forestry• Establish additional codes of practice for forestry

activities• Removal of existing crops with no further replanting

in sensitive areas• Abandon existing crops with no further replanting in

sensitive areas• Harvest as the crop matures and replanting in

accordance with up to date guidance

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Morphology• Establish a code of practice for physical modifications• Reduce morphology pressures and allow the system

to re-naturalise• Targeting channelisation, barrier and over-grazing

restoration schemes

• Support for existing voluntary initiatives such as wetlands and ICZM schemes.

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Abstractions• Establish a code of practice for abstraction and water

conservation• Support for voluntary initiatives such as water

conservation and rainwater harvesting schemes• Remediation schemes in priority areas including

considering reducing current abstractions by; altered abstraction timing, conjunctive use, additional storage or alternative sources.

Alternative Supplementary Measures

• Research

• Characterisation of effluents and leachates

• Establishing natural background levels in waters

• Establishing links between ecology and morphology

• Establishing links between ecology and abstractions including flow requirements to support fish.

• Education Campaigns

• National awareness campaign

• Dangerous substances awareness / labelling etc

• Morphology awareness of pressures.

Alternative Supplementary Measures