Water Quality and Farming

Sections within this article include:

Water Quality in England
How Does Agriculture Impact Water Quality?
How to Reduce Impact on Water Bodies
Where to Get Help
Key Regulations
Other Benefits
Common Water Quality Problems and What to Do

Water Quality in England:

The important of water quality in the landscape is now widely understood, as water bodies are home to iconic species and habitats and water as a resource is used in a wide variety of ways, including drinking and stock water, transport, recreation and irrigation.

However, water quality throughout England is under pressure:

Only 14% of assessed lakes are at good ecological status and 14% of rivers achieve good ecological status.
No river achieves a good status for chemical contamination. [1]

This pollution stems from a range of sources, including waste and storm water overflows, run-off from towns, cities and transport, changing climate impacts, and agriculture.

[1] State of the water environment indicator B3: supporting evidence - GOV.UK

How Does Agriculture Impact Water Quality?

Agriculture can impact water quality in a number of ways, often as a result of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides getting into waterbodies. The sources of pollution can be considered in two ways:

Point source - a direct pollution source such as a wastewater pipe runoff, or a poorly maintained slurry store; or
Diffuse - smaller amounts of pollution that are often individually minor, but collectively can result in significant environmental damage, such as nitrogen runoff and seepage at multiple points across a catchment.

Key Contaminant	Description	How Does it Enter Water Bodies	Risk to Water Quality
Nitrogen	Nitrogen is a major nutrient often applied in synthetic or organic fertiliser; or found in livestock manure.	Nitrogen is water soluble so can enter water bodies via overland flow or leaching through the soil.	Excessive nutrient enrichment causes the deoxygenation of water through eutrophication which is damaging to the surface water ecology. Eutrophication can lead to blue-green algae outbreaks which can be deadly to dogs and livestock and cause illness in humans. Excess nitrogen can lead to drinking water issues.
Phosphorous	Phosphorous is a major nutrient often applied in synthetic or organic fertiliser; or found in livestock manure.	Phosphorus binds to soil particles and can reach water bodies via overland flow and land drains.
Faecal Indicator Organisms (FIOs)	FIOs, such as E. Coli are pathogens which are commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans.	FIOs from animals can enter water bodies via direct contamination or via run-off from slurry and manure.	Excess FIOs in water bodies pose a risk to human health and can make water bodies unsuitable for recreational use or abstraction.
Sediment	Sediment is the mineral and organic material from soil and waste that is eroded.	Sediment can enter water through surface run off or erosion from yards and fields and through land drains.	Excess sediment in water bodies can impact on the ecology of a water body. It can also pose a risk to human health, and impact amenity values in water bodies such as clarity.
Other Chemicals	Other chemicals used in agriculture, such as pesticides, herbicides and fungicides to control pests and weeds, or veterinary medicines and sheep-dip.	Excess or inappropriate use of agrichemicals around water bodies can result in run off to water bodies. Chemicals can also reach water from chemical handling or storage areas.	Agrichemicals can pollute rivers and prove toxic to aquatic life or pose a risk to human or animal health.

How to Reduce Impact on Water Bodies:

In managing and reducing impacts on water quality from agriculture it is important to understand:

Your natural environment, the relationship between your farm and local water bodies, and how water flows through your farm to understand where pollution risk areas might be.
The activities on your farm and how these might be contributing to pollution.

Diagram of interaction between catchment, risks and actions

Catchment: Know your catchment, key issues and priorities to help understand risks to water quality and where to put your focus.

Local Environment: Know your local environment and map your farm; soils, topography, water flow paths, locations of water bodies, woodlands and hedgerows. This will help you better understand where water flows from you farm and where contaminants may be at risk of entering water.

On Farm Activities: Map activities on farm over your local environment to visualise your risks. Map your infrastructure and the different farming activities you are doing. This will help you to illustrate the possible impacts of your current farming activities and where contaminants from farming may be at risk of entering water.

Plan and Actions: Develop, plan and review actions to address risks to water quality, to help you reduce and monitor contaminant losses to water bodies. Remember to keep actions achievable and practical.

Use the ALERT free mapping tool created by the Environment Agency on behalf of Catchment Sensitive Farming to help farmers and our local advisers analyse the landscape and reduce pollution from agriculture- Tools | Farming Advice Service

Where to Get Help:

FAS / CSF: FAS, CSF and a range of partners and stakeholders can help provide advice on improving water quality, meeting compliance requirements and accessing available grant and scheme funding. CSF advisers provide farmers with free, confidential advice and guidance, including one to one farm visits.
Other farmers: Many catchments around the country have catchment or discussion groups of farmers working together to improve water quality. Engaging with these groups or talking to neighbours will improve your understanding of local issues, how your farm might be contributing to quality issues, and effective actions to take to reduce pollution.
Grants and Schemes: There is a range of funding support available that has a specific focus on actions to reduce impacts on water quality. Look at the Funding For Farmers page on GOV.UK and talk to advisors for assistance on what grants and schemes are open and that may be relevant.
Other Advisors: Your farm consultant or advisors can help you understand where pollution is coming from and what action you can take.

Key Regulations:

There are a number of legal requirements that need to be followed in relation to water quality, including:

The Environment Agency Handbook- Harvesting Success: Pollution-Prevention Rules for Farmers, provides a guide to the regulations and rules to reduce water pollution risks on farm. Remember to always manage your specific impacts from your farm on water quality first and foremost.

For more information on regulations and their specific requirements, view the Rules for farmers and land managers page on GOV.UK.

Other Benefits:

Managing impacts on water quality can result in a range of other benefits for the environment and your farm business including:

Making your business more efficient by maximising use of resources and reducing costs.
Improved resilience to climate change, floods and droughts.
Reduced loss of topsoil to erosion and improved soil health which is better for production.
Improved biodiversity across the farm.
Reduced risk to drinking water sources.
Greater recreational opportunities.
Less risk of noncompliance and financial penalties associated with relevant regulations.

Common Water Quality Problems and What to Do:

Table 3 contains some common activities on farm that can often contribute to water quality issues, and how contaminant losses may be addressed.

Activity	Description	Potential Ways to Address Issues
Livestock Poaching	Livestock congregation around water troughs, gateways and in and around water bodies, can increase soil erosion or compaction, and the chance of runoff of manure and sediment. This can lead to increased levels of sediment, FIOs and nutrients in water.	Fence livestock from water bodies. Avoid bare soil and areas where stock congregate, e.g. implement mob grazing methods, install troughs or portable water troughs. Provide vegetated buffer zones around water bodies to capture runoff.
Slurry- Manure Storage	Not having enough storage for your slurry or not having appropriate protection from weather can increase the amount of slurry you are required to store and the frequency of application to land and pose a risk to water bodies.	Keep rainfall from roofs and clean yard areas separate from dirty areas, such as loafing yards to reduce the amount of slurry that needs to be stored. Check and maintain gutters and downpipes to prevent clean water falling on dirty yards. Add an impermeable cover to your store to avoid excess rainwater entering the store. Upgrade your store to increase capacity.
Soil Erosion	A lack of protection of soils, or overgrazing, can lead to erosion issues such as gully, sheet, or wind erosion. This can increase sediment loads in water bodies and provide runoff pathways for other contaminants.	Stabilise at-risk hillsides e.g. agroforestry and integrate trees on farm. Integrate cover crops in cropping systems Implement min-till or no till cultivation where possible. Buffer crop paddocks from wind with hedgerows/wind breaks. Consider how you can better manage livestock to reduce bare soils or improve soil health e.g. implement mob grazing methods, diversify pastures. Provide vegetated buffer zones around water bodies and on hillsides to capture runoff.
Fertiliser Application	Excess fertiliser application or applying fertiliser too close to water bodies can lead to leaching and runoff of fertiliser to water.	Consider how you can improve soil health to provide essential plant nutrients and reduce fertiliser use. Implement a nutrient management plan to ensure you match any fertiliser use to crop requirements and soil and climate/weather conditions to avoid losses. In most cases, there is no soil and crop need for nitrogen in the autumn and winter, and when there is it will be limited. Avoid applying fertilisers and manures under wet conditions. Establish vegetated buffer zones by water bodies Implement appropriate buffer zones from water bodies during application. Seek advice from a FACTS qualified adviser.
Pesticide handling and application	Inappropriate pesticide storage, handling and application can lead to point source and diffuse pollution of surface and ground water.	Seek advice from a BASIS qualified adviser. Adopt Integrated Pest Management techniques to reduce need for chemicals. Implement appropriate buffer zones from water bodies during application. Only spray in appropriate weather conditions e.g. avoid excessive heat and wind to avoid spray drift, avoid wet weather to avoid runoff. Review your pesticide handling and filling practices. Consider the use of bunded filling areas, bio-beds or bio-filters.