Water Management Plans
What is a water management plan?
A Water Management Plan (WMP) from the Mersey Rivers Trust helps farms reduce water pollution and protect local watercourses.
The plan highlights where clean and dirty water mix on the farm and sets out simple, cost-effective measures to keep them separate. From fixing guttering and drains to creating buffer strips and improving gateways. Each plan is tailored to the farm and often links to funding support for each intervention outlined.
Once a farm has a Water Management Plan from the Mersey Rivers Trust, it becomes eligible for funding opportunities such as our current Growing Solutions Upper Weaver Farms and Cultivating Clean Water on the River Bollin small grants farm projects.
What does it include?
A water management plan outlines the farm business type and farming processes. It includes information on water uses, rainfall, nutrient use and crop details on the farm.
The main part of the water management plan contains a list of interventions which are identified in discussion with you during the farm walk over in the yard and fields. Interventions look at ways to reduce pollution in the water such as:
• Rainwater harvesting
• Fencing
• Concrete
• Livestock tracks
• Sward lifting
• Buffer strips
• Under sowing
Why is it a useful document to have?
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FREE farm business advice – takes around 1.5 hours for the farm visit and it only costs your time.
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Water Management Plan captures items that could be submitted into other schemes, support supplier schemes (e.g Tesco, Müller)
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Potential to be considered for future funding from Mersey Rivers Trust – but you need to have a water management plan from us!
Bollin Catchment
Cultivating Clean Water Small Grants Farm Project
For Farms in the Bollin Catchment we have small grants available to help prevent water pollution . Funding is available to support the purchase/installation of:
- Yard concrete
- Guttering
- Fencing
- Tree-plating
- Sward lifting
Awards are approx £5.5k per farm.
Book your visit with one of our farm advisors now to increase your chances of securing funding for capital grants in 2025/26.
Contact Us - Email: justine@merseyrivers.org
Call or Text Justine on: 07952056286
