Watergrove designated as water safeguard zone

Watergrove Reservoir

Thirty-eight locations where water is gathered for drinking supplies have been designated as water safeguard zones because the quality of local rivers, reservoirs or boreholes is getting worse, including Watergrove in Rochdale. 

The problem means more and more expensive, environmentally-unfriendly chemicals could be needed to treat water to the very high standards needed to make it fit to drink and can require expensive upgrades to water treatment works.

Pollutants, algae and discolouration are the main culprits. But experts from water company United Utilities and the Environment Agency say simple changes to farming and business practices could be all it takes to reverse the trend.

And it could bring particular benefits for farmers, as well as consumers and the environment.

Landowners, businesses and other stakeholders who could affect water catchment are now being invited to one of a series of consultation workshops taking place across the North West from the end of January. The workshops hope to help identify local problems and urge people to work together voluntarily to make things better. Supported by experts, it is hoped farmers could save money by using their resources more wisely or even get enhanced access to public funding.

Catchment strategy manager Kate Snow, who monitors water quality trends for United Utilities, said deteriorating raw water did not necessarily mean people were doing anything wrong.

"In some cases this deterioration has been happening over decades as the result of practices which are long established. United Utilities itself owns huge swathes of catchment land around our reservoirs and river intakes. Practices like draining bogs, done to provide improvement to grazing land in the past, we now know are not good for water quality, biodiversity or the environment. We have been spearheading work on our own land to change our land management practices and we're hope what we've learned could inspire others."

Safeguard zones can be established in any drinking water protected area which yields more than ten thousand litres of water a day for public consumption and where raw water quality has got worse over time as a result of human activity.

"This designation isn’t saying exactly why the problem is occurring or who is responsible, but it simply acknowledges that there is a problem," said Kate. "Working with the Environment Agency, we want to bring local people together to ask them what they think is causing the problem and think about what could be done.

"Obviously if the problem is solvents, it's an issue for industry, whereas the presence of pesticides, nitrates or algae means it’s likely to be land management practice, or possibly even our own sewer network"

In the case of farmers, one outcome may be to change certain routine practices, such as looking at the times of year when most manure is spread or even using different pesticides. Perhaps making sure a "washing off” area for equipment used in pesticide treatment doesn't drain into a watercourse which the farmer didn't know about.

"Growing buffer strips of woodland attracts funding and can be very beneficial in improving water quality. Soil sampling too can be a big help," said Kate. "Our soil sampling can help farmers save money by using manure more effectively and perhaps even removing the need to use any inorganic fertilisers at all on certain parts of the farm. These are the issues we want to address and to work more closely together."

Environment Agency water resources advisor Jane Hodgson said the consultation meetings would be the first step on the road to creating a voluntary action plan.

"At this stage we don't know what financial benefits there may be for taking part in a safeguard zone action plan. It's a new process.