Why water reforms are an opportunity to promote farming

DEFRA proposals to reform the management and abstraction of water in England and Wales represent the biggest change to how farmers and other users access one of nature’s most valuable resources since the passing of the Water Resources Act in 1991.

The changes, such as a reduction in volume allowances to ground water users and restricted abstraction during times of low-flow for surface water users, have already had a negative impact on some businesses because they limit production capacity. The reforms also mean that previously exempt activities, such as trickle irrigation, will require a licence from July 2020.

The scope of the reforms is considerable, but in many respects overdue, explains Paul Hammett, NFU national specialist for water resources.

“The previous system for managing abstraction licences was introduced in the 1960s. Its administration was widely accepted to be outdated while the restrictions it placed on both the licensee and the licensor lacked the flexibility needed to allow users to take water in times of plenty or to fully utilise the technological advances users are adopting to improve water use efficiency,” says Mr Hammett.

Environment Bill

While the system is overdue reform, some of the proposals presented in the Environment Bill have been met with alarm from users. In particular, the proposals that mean the regulator can modify the terms of a licence without needing to compensate the licensee.

“If passed as it is proposed, the law would allow the Environment Agency to revoke or vary abstraction licences without compensating the licence holder if the secretary of state is satisfied that it is needed to protect the environment,” explains Mr Hammett.

“We believe compensation should be paid where capacity is removed. Abstraction rights are akin to property rights, so we remain concerned by the proposals and continue to express these to DEFRA,” he adds.

For all the concerns surrounding the reforms, there is also good cause to be optimistic.

“There is a lot of positive stuff happening, but only because of the tightening of regulation to protect and enhance the environment. The challenge is to manage these aspects in tandem so that industry is not negatively affected. It concerns me that regulation may tighten before we have the means to manage water in a different way.”

In its widest context, the proposals being debated today pave the way for long-term multi-sector water planning at the national level. The needs of agriculture will have a place in this discussion.

“The challenge is to estimate and defend our future needs.It's hard enough to gauge what agriculture needs this year or next let alone in 2050, but the positive is that the needs of agriculture are recognised and that the NFU has a place at the table,” says Mr Hammett.

Regional Water Groups

A recent development has been the creation of five regional water groups for England. These groups represent the interests of more than just the utilities while newly enacted policies require these groups to submit a series of plans from 2023.

“It is encouraging that agriculture is being recognised in this vision, but it is also clear that the plan is to bring all users and regions together so that government can begin to consider how in times of shortage it can transfer water from a region in surplus to one in deficit,” explains Mr Hammett.

The concept of national water grids has been discussed for many years, but the summer of 2018 added a new emphasis. This has relevance to farmers because if water is being transferred from one region to another it may be that farmers might be able to take advantage of it.

There is also potential for these plans to broaden in their scope to consider water management in the context of water quality and in extreme circumstances, such as droughts and floods, that they are considered in unison, rather than separately as is the case at the moment.

“Land managers are central to this ambition. Many farmers have invested in their businesses to improve their resilience, especially in times of water shortage, but if climate change predictions of longer and more extreme droughts come to pass it makes you question how much longer farmers can continue to manage this as individual businesses and whether there is a need for a more collaborative approach.

“The framework outlining how the five regional groups should work is perhaps the first step in that process. Agriculture has to be part of the solution; if we can incorporate measures that deliver for the industry in the process then that is a big win for our industry.”

Water and drought portal

The timeline for reform published in 2018 included a proposal to enable the trading of water between users at the local level. In support of this, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, has launched a water resources portal to give near real-time data on river flows and a drought portal to see the level of moisture deficit at the local and national level.

“Users can use these tools to see what is likely to be available to them for irrigation purposes. This can be used to inform cropping in the short- and long-term,” says Mr Hammett.