Farming and Food

The challenge

In eastern England, the irrigated agri-business sector supports some 50,000 rural livelihoods and contributes over £3bn annually to the region’s economy.

Most irrigation water is abstracted from local rivers and streams, typically in the driest parts of the country at the driest times of the year, and used immediately with relatively little on-farm storage. This can result in significant local environmental impacts, but any restrictions on abstraction risk being financially disastrous for farmers.

The challenge

As a contribution to improving the local environment Coca Cola wanted to restore a degraded stretch of river near it bottling plant in south east London. In addition to removing unsightly rubbish, the restoration must be sustainable, being resilient to both flood and drought events, and it must re-establish native ecosystems that are consistent with the local area.

The challenge

For many water quality problems, the impacts can be seen at specific points in rivers or lakes. However, if a problem results from diffuse (non-point) pollution, particularly from agricultural sources, then we need to determine where in the landscape the issue is coming from so that mitigation works can be targeted.

The challenge

Pickering, in North Yorkshire, has a long history of flooding. More recently, floods occurred in 1999, 2000, 2002, and most notably, in 2007, when 85 properties were flooded, causing an estimated £7 million of damage.