United Utilities/RSPB Penny Anderson Penny Anderson Associates Ltd - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP) 2005-2010 (-2020)

United Utilities/RSPB Penny Anderson Penny Anderson Associates Ltd

Background

• Innovative, large scale project
• Aim to improve:

– biodiversity condition – raw drinking water quality

• Reduce runoff rates, sediment load and

downstream flooding

• Reduce erosion and loss of carbon
• Increase carbon sequestration
• Provide a sustainable future for tenants
• Support regional BAP habitats and species

Where?

21 farms, 45 land holdings c.20,000ha

Innovative

• United Utilities owns c. 57,000 ha in NW Region
• 17,500ha designated as SSSI
• Own land to protect raw water quality for 6.7million

people

• First project where regulators permitted catchment

management as part of AMP process

• As a regulated Utility Undertaker, UU has obligations to

take biodiversity and habitat into account, although not funded to do so

Landscape Scale Approach – multiple benefits

• Sustainable catchment management plans
• Work closely with tenant farmers, keepers etc
• Implement works in a partnership approach
• RSPB - agri-environment support
• UU invested in infrastructure and other capital works.

Budget £12.5million 2005-2010

• £10.5million on restoration works
• £2million on capital investments

Measures

• grip blocking 85.23km in

the Goyt and Bowland

• re-vegetation of eroding

bare peat 470ha, plus some gully blocking

• restoring dwarf shrub heath

Restoration of bare peat

Grass species % weig ht Kg ha-1 Other additions Highland Bent (Agrostis castellana) 6 2.43 Wavy hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa) added where seed available Lime @ 1 t ha-1 NPK 10:30:15 fertiliser @ 250 kg ha-

1

Sheep’s fescue (Festuca

• vina)

15 6.09 Red fescue (Festuca rubra rubra) 19 7.91 Blue fescue (Festuca longifolia) 15 6.09 Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne Romark) 24 9.74 Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne Rio) 21 8.52 Totals 100 40.78

Measures cont.

• woodland enhancement -111ha
• planting new upland oak and wet woodland - 516ha
• hay meadow improvements-109ha
• 250ha rush pastures -100 scrapes + rush cutting
• new bridges, water troughs, stream fencing - reduces

pathogens in water

• 9 new stock buildings - indoor wintering and lambing
• new waste management facilities - reduce run-off to

water courses

Monitoring 2005-2015 (and beyond)

• Hydrological and vegetation effects of grip blocking -

Whitendale and Brennand + Goyt Estate

• Bare peat re-vegetation treatments on Ashway Gap,

Quiet Shepherd & Arnfield Estates - vegetation and hydrology

• Vegetation response to changes in sheep stocking levels
• 2 Estates, Bowland
• Vegetation response to restoration of acid grassland to

dwarf shrub-rich vegetation - 4 sites

Monitoring methods

• Monitored:

– Water colour and turbidity at sub catchment scale - daily

• Stage in river – 15mins
• Dip wells across grips – 15mins
• Vegetation biennially

Goyt Raw Water Colour (2006-2014) Whitendale Intake Raw Water Colour (2006-2014) Brennand Bield Field Stream Raw Water Colour (2007-2014) Brennand Brown Syke Stream Raw Water Colour (2007-2014) Ashway Gap Chew Clough Raw Water Colour (2006-2014) Ashway Gap Small Clough Raw Water Colour (2006-2014) Legend Green dots: True colour (Hazen) measured daily Dashed grey lines: Series mean and median values Orange line: Locally weighted average (LOWESS) of series

Type 3 Colour Pattern (catchment response) Type 2 Colour Pattern (catchment response) Type 1 Colour Pattern (catchment response)

Type 1 Goyt and Whitendale steams, Hazen<500, grip blocking Type 2 Higher colour, >500, more peat in catchment, Brennand, grip blocking 2008-2009 Type 3 Ashway Gap – very high colour levels, degraded, gullied catchment, re-vegetated, gully blocking 2007

Colour in water

Effects of grip blocking on colour

Goyt

All sites - small, but statistically significant decline in raw water colour after 2 years in Brennand and Goyt, after 5 years in Whitendale

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 06/06/2006 14/09/2006 23/12/2006 02/04/2007 11/07/2007 19/10/2007 27/01/2008 06/05/2008 14/08/2008 22/11/2008 02/03/2009 10/06/2009 18/09/2009 27/12/2009 06/04/2010 15/07/2010 23/10/2010 31/01/2011 11/05/2011 19/08/2011 27/11/2011 06/03/2012 14/06/2012 22/09/2012 01/01/2013 11/04/2013 20/07/2013 28/10/2013

DATE COLOUR (HAZEN)

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

RAW WATER COLOUR Monthly mean

Effects on water table

Statistically higher water table in Goyt Lower perturbations

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 26/03/2007 26/05/2007 26/07/2007 26/09/2007 26/11/2007 26/01/2008 26/03/2008 26/05/2008 26/07/2008 26/09/2008 26/11/2008 26/01/2009 26/03/2009 26/05/2009 26/07/2009 26/09/2009 26/11/2009 26/01/2010 26/03/2010 26/05/2010 26/07/2010 26/09/2010 26/11/2010 26/01/2011 26/03/2011 26/05/2011 26/07/2011 26/09/2011 26/11/2011 26/01/2012 26/03/2012 26/05/2012 26/07/2012 26/09/2012 26/11/2012 26/01/2013 26/03/2013 26/05/2013 26/07/2013 26/09/2013 26/11/2013 DATE WATER TABLE DEPTH BELOW SURFACE (cm)

Water Table Level (below surface, cm) Mean annual WTL (cm)

Grip blocking on Brennand, Bowland

May 2007 Feb 2009 Oct 2012 June 2013

June 2014

Carbon savings Goyt

Total DOC Loss Per Year DOC Loss kg/Year/ Hectare Mean DOC Loss Per Day Median DOC Loss Per Day September 2006 - September 2007 67,355kg 89kg 206kg 72kg September 2007 - September 2008 48,121kg 64kg 145kg 53kg September 2008 - September 2009 38147kg 51kg 115kg 41kg September 2009 - September 2010 37,090kg 49kg 102kg 31kg

Other effects

• Flooding

– No effects found

Sphagnum Cover Brennand

before (2007) and after (2009–2012) Restoration Measures

(Mean and Standard Deviation) BB1 – reference site, BB2 and BB3 - grips blocked eroded catchment, BB4 and BB5 - grips blocked uneroded catchment Blanket bog species showing trends for increases – cranberry, bog asphodel, bog rosemary, cross-leaved heath, crowberry

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB2 BB3 BB4 BB5 Site Code Sphagnum cover (%)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2012

* * * * * * * * * *

Mostly Sphagnum fallax

Sphagnum Goyt

Goyt - Sphagnum cover after grip blocking, stock reduction and stopping

• f burning

BB1 and BB2 - peat-blocked grips BB3 - reference site grips, unblocked BB5 - plastic-blocked grips

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB2 BB3 BB5

Site Code Sphagnum cover (%)

2006 2008 2010 2012

* * * *

Other species

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB2 BB3 BB4 BB5 Site Code Dwarf shrub cover (%)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2012

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

BRENNAND Cottongrasses – no consistent trend Wavy hair-grass – increase then decline Heather – increase then decline Bilberry – decline on some sites not on

• thers

Other mosses – increases after grazing reduced, not with grip blocking Most differences reflect reduced grazing GOYT Reduction in Molinia 1 plot Dwarf shrubs Brennand

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB2 BB3 BB5

Site Code Purple moorgrass cover (%)

2006 2008 2010 2012

* *

Molinia Goyt

Longdendale Vegetation Results

Geojute No geojute

2011

Lime, nurse seed, fertiliser, brash + Geojute 2007 (left) 2012 (right) Lime, nurse seed & fertiliser Plot 2007 prior to treatment (left) & 2012 (right),

Longdendale Results – Grass Nurse crop

Cover before (2007) and after restoration

BB1 and BB5, gently sloping, treated with lime, fertiliser and grass seed BB6a and BB6b on steeper slopes treated with lime, fertiliser, grass seed and heather brash BB6b with geojute as well BB7 reference site untreated

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB6a BB6b BB7

Site Code Nurse Crop Cover (%)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2012

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Longdendale – dwarf shrub cover

before (2007) and after restoration

BB1 gently sloping, treated with lime, fertiliser and grass seed BB6a and BB6b on steeper slopes treated with lime, fertiliser, grass seed and heather brash BB6b with geojute as well BB7 reference site untreated

Mostly heather

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB6a BB6b BB7

Site Code Dwarf Shrub Cover (%)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2012

* * * * * *

Longdendale – Moss cover

Before (2007) and after Restoration

BB1 gently sloping, treated with lime, fertiliser and grass seed BB6a and BB6b on steeper slopes treated with lime, fertiliser grass seed and heather brash BB6b with geojute as well BB7 reference site untreated

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB6a BB6b BB7

Site Code Bryophyte Cover (%)

2007 2008 2010 2010 2012

* * * * * * * *

Spp- Campylopus & Hypnum

Longdendale - other species

20 40 60 80 100 BB1 BB6a BB6b BB7 Site Code Cottongrass Cover (%) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012

* * * * * * * * * *

Cottongrasses No Sphagnum Few other species

Coir rolls in peat pans

Coir rolls Total Vegetation Cover Baseline Year (2007) and following Restoration Measures (2007onwards)

Plot BB2a no coir Plot BB2b coir rolls Installed

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 BB2a BB2b

Site Code Vegetation Cover (%)

2007 2008 2009 2010

2007 2010 2011

Wider works

Stone dams in gullies Heather bales Stone dams Liming and fertilising Heather/coir dams Coir rolls Cottongrass fruiting – stock removal

Turbidity Ashway Gap

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 16/10/07 16/12/07 16/02/08 16/04/08 16/06/08 16/08/08 16/10/08 16/12/08 16/02/09 16/04/09 16/06/09 16/08/09 16/10/09 16/12/09 16/02/10 16/04/10 16/06/10 16/08/10 16/10/10 16/12/10 16/02/11 16/04/11 16/06/11 16/08/11 16/10/11 16/12/11 16/02/12 16/04/12 16/06/12 16/08/12 16/10/12 16/12/12 16/02/13 16/04/13 16/06/13 16/08/13 16/10/13 16/12/13

DATE TURBIDITY (NTU)

TURBIDITY (NTU) MEAN ANNUAL TURBIDITY

Chew Stream sub-catchment Works 2007-8 early reduction, reduced peaks

Water quality DOC Small Clough, Ashway Gap

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 14/07/2006 22/10/2006 30/01/2007 10/05/2007 18/08/2007 26/11/2007 05/03/2008 13/06/2008 21/09/2008 30/12/2008 09/04/2009 18/07/2009 26/10/2009 03/02/2010 14/05/2010 22/08/2010 30/11/2010 10/03/2011 18/06/2011 26/09/2011 04/01/2012 13/04/2012 22/07/2012 30/10/2012 07/02/2013 18/05/2013 26/08/2013 04/12/2013 DATE COLOUR (HAZEN) 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Raw Water Colour SMALL CLOUGH Monthly Mean

Stable or increasing till 2010, sig. reduction 2010 onwards except 2012 wet summer

Ashway Gap Blindstones Moss Dipwell - Mean Daily Peat Water Table Depth

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 22-02-2008 22-05-2008 22-08-2008 22-11-2008 22-02-2009 22-05-2009 22-08-2009 22-11-2009 22-02-2010 22-05-2010 22-08-2010 22-11-2010 22-02-2011 22-05-2011 22-08-2011 22-11-2011 22-02-2012 22-05-2012 22-08-2012 22-11-2012 22-02-2013 22-05-2013 22-08-2013 22-11-2013

PEAT WATER TABLE LEVEL BELOW SURFACE (cm)

Daily Mean Raw Data Annual Mean

Statistically significant rise mean 80.02cm depth (SD 18.82cm) during the treatment phase, mean 55.95 cm depth SD 25.20cm) post-treatment up to the end of 2009 (P < 0.001, n = 584) (Seasonal Kendall Test for monotonic trend) standard deviation corresponding decrease, variability of groundwater level decreasing

Conclusions

• Met Government’s SSSI targets 2010

SSSI units enhanced and recovering

• Water quality, particularly water colour

Reduced colour with grip blocking (and re- vegetation), reduced POC with revegetation, reduced pathogen with stream management

• Reduce runoff rates, sediment load and

downstream flooding

Reduced sediment load after re-vegetation, reduced losses of carbon, runoff rates and downstream flooding – jury out