Guidance

Annex 7: Options and capital items to address water quality issues

Published 25 February 2021

Applies to England

Information about appropriate options and capital items to address water quality issues.

You can identify the types of options and capital items that you can use to deal with water quality priorities in your local area by using:

• the tables in this annex
• the water quality sections of the Statements of Priorities
• Countryside Stewardship grants on GOV.UK

You can get water quality information for your land on the MAGIC website by following the steps below:

1. ‘Countryside Stewardship Targeting & Scoring Layers’, then
2. ‘Water’, then
3. ‘Countryside Stewardship Water Quality Priority Areas’ (you can make this layer transparent by using the slider under ‘Countryside Stewardship Targeting & Scoring Layers’)
4. navigate to your land
5. use the ‘Identify’ tool in order to check the information specific to your land parcels.

Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) provides advice to farmers in High Quality Water priority areas on the appropriate use of the options and items to address water pollution, based on local priorities and issues. For details visit Catchment Sensitive Farming: reduce water and air pollution on GOV.UK.

1. Water quality options that address pollutant pressures affecting water quality and for flood and coastal risk

Code/Action	Impact on pollutants affecting water quality in protected areas	Flood and Coastal Risk Management and Physical Modification
AB1 - Nectar flower mix	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
AB3 - Beetle banks	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
AB6 - Enhanced overwinter stubble	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
AB15 - Two year sown legume fallow	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
GS1 - Take field corners out of management	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
GS2 - Permanent grassland with very low inputs (outside SDA)	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate - Surface Water, Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
GS5 - Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate - Surface Water, Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
HS2 - Take historic and archaeological features currently on cultivated land out of cultivation	Nitrate – Ground Water Nitrate - Surface Water,	No
OR1 - Organic conversion - improved permanent grassland	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
OR2 - Organic conversion - unimproved permanent grassland	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
OR3 - Organic conversion - rotational land	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
OR4 - Organic conversion - horticulture	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
SW1 - 4-6m buffer strip on cultivated land	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
SW10 - Seasonal livestock removal on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
SW11 - Riparian management strip	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
SW14 - Nil fertiliser supplement	Nitrate – Ground Water Nitrate - Surface Water	No
SW2 - 4-6m buffer strip on intensive grassland	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
SW3 - In-field grass strips	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
SW4 - 12-24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
SW5 - Enhanced management of maize crops	Not applicable	Yes
SW6 - Winter cover crops	Nitrate – Ground Water	Yes
SW7 - Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input	Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
SW8 - Management of intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse	Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
SW9 - Seasonal livestock removal on intensive grassland	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
WT1 - Buffering in-field ponds and ditches in improved grassland	Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
WT2 - Buffering in-field ponds and ditches in arable land	Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP4 - Livestock and machinery hardcore tracks	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
LV7 - Livestock troughs	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP18 - Above ground tanks	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water	Yes
RP26 - Bio filters	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
RP12 - Check dams	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP15 - Concrete yard renewal	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP5 - Cross drains	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP9 - Earth banks and soil bunds	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
FG1 - Fencing	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water	No
RP19 - First flush rainwater diverters or downpipe filters	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water	Yes
RP30 - Floating covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores and lagoons	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Nitrate - Surface Water	No
RP2 - Gateway relocation	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
LV3 - Hard bases for livestock drinkers	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
LV4 - Hard bases for livestock feeders	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP23 - Installation of livestock drinking troughs (in draining pens for freshly dipped sheep)	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
RP6 - Installation of piped culverts in ditches	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP24 - Lined bio bed plus pesticide loading and wash down area	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
RP25 - Lined bio bed with existing wash down area	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
LV5 - Pasture pumps and associated pipework	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
FG3 - Permanent electric fencing	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water	No
LV8 - Pipework associated with livestock troughs	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP16 - Rainwater goods	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Nitrate - Surface Water Pesticides – Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
LV6 - Ram pumps and associated pipework	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP20 - Relocation of sheep dips and pens	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
RP21 - Relocation of sheep pens only	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
RP1 - Resurfacing of gateways	Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP28 - Roofing (sprayer wash down area, manure storage area, livestock gathering area, slurry stores, silage stores)	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP7 - Sediment ponds and traps	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP29 - Self-supporting covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Nitrate - Surface Water	No
RP22 - Sheep dip drainage aprons and sumps	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
FG2 - Sheep netting	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water	No
RP10 - Silt filtration dams or seepage barriers	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP27 - Sprayer or applicator load and wash down area	Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water	No
RP17 - Storage tanks underground	Not applicable	Yes
RP11 - Swales	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
FG15 - Water gates	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	Yes
RP3 - Watercourse crossings	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP13 - Yard - underground drainage pipework	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No
RP14 - Yard Inspection pit	Faecal Indicator Organisms – Bathing water Nitrate – Ground Water Pesticides – Ground Water Pesticides – Surface Water Nitrate - Surface Water Phosphate and Sediment – Surface Water	No