Hampshire Avon Demonstration Test Catchment

A consortium led by ADAS Consulting, including staff from SHES, together with others from CEH, BGS, the University of Bristol, Queen Mary College London, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and Entec Ltd have recently won funding under a joint Defra, Environment Agency and WAG initiative for a 5 year research programme on the Hampshire Avon Demonstration Test Catchment (DTC).

The University of Reading is a joint contractor and Professor Penny Johnes is one of the Principle Investigators. Drs Steve Robinson and Andrew Wade are also involved in the programme, which will run until March 2014 at a total cost (for the Hampshire Avon DTC) of approximately £2.3M.

The core objective of the project, which is linked to two other DTC sites in the Eden (Cumbria) and Wensum (Norfolk) catchments, is to provide the empirical evidence base to test the hypothesis that it is possible (through the implementation of a suite of on-farm management measures) to reduce cost-effectively the impact of agricultural diffuse water pollution on the ecological function of UK waters, while maintaining food security.

Key findings from the linked DTC programmes will be used to inform the development of national policies to meet mandatory targets under the EU Water Framework Directive, and both locally and nationally to increase stakeholder confidence that on-farm measures can be effectively deployed to improve water quality status in UK waters.