6. Rural SUDS
Themes: Water quantity; Ecology and biodiversity
Objectives:
- Promote catchment sensitive land use to reduce floodwater run-off
- Improve water quality
- Enhance and restore floodplain habitats
Project description
To install Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) in the catchment to improve water quality and reduce flood risk.
SUDS can have a dramatic impact on reducing run-off and flooding within a catchment. An example of a SUDS scheme would be:
- Digging ponds along ditches to filter sediments from run-off. Periodically these sediments can be dug out of the pond and ploughed back into the farmland as a fertilizer to improve crop yield.
Many SUDS schemes have multiple benefits, such as: Reducing siltation, reducing flood risk, creating wildlife habitat.
Project lead: Natural England via the Catchment Sensitive farming initiative
Project partners: Farmers & Landowners. Environment Agency
Funding source: TBC
