Led by: United Utilities
Funding amount: £6,395,499
Partners: Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Agreena, Cardiff University, Defra, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Earthwatch Institute, Environment Agency, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, Lune Rivers Trust, Mersey Rivers Trust, Natural Course EU Life Integrated Project, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Norfolk Rivers Trust, Northumbrian Water, Ribble Rivers Trust, River Lark Catchment Partnership, Severn Rivers Trust, Severn Trent Water, South East Water, Southern Water, South West Water, Thames Water Utilities, Thames21, The Freshwater Biological Association, The River Restoration Centre, The Rivers Trust, The Zoological Society of London, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, United Utilities, University of Exeter, Wessex Water, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Western Sussex Rivers Trust, Wye & Usk Foundation, Yorkshire Water
Contributing Experts: Cartographer, Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), Isle Utilities, Newcastle University, Riverfly Partnership, UCL, University of Bristol, University of East Anglia, Water Rangers, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and many independent experts.
See project updates on the CaSTCo website.
Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative (CaSTCo) – a partnership led by United Utilities between the Rivers Trust, twelve water and sewerage companies as well as academia and environmental charities– has been awarded £7.1 million to revolutionise the way crucial data about England and Wales’ water environment is gathered and shared, in particular on the health of the nation’s rivers. Only 14% of rivers in England are in ‘good health’ – one of the worst records in Europe. This project will ensure there is robust evidence base for tackling environmental challenges with direct support for local evidence gathering and community engagement in eight demonstration catchments, and a national framework of standardised tools and training.
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CaSTCo is in the final six months of delivery and focus is on consolidating project learnings and successes; using these to inform the plan for implementing our Roadmap for the future. The Roadmap (which outlines key recommendations for implementing a unified data-driven monitoring framework to result in our end goal of healthier, better rivers) is a significant development for the project. The recommendations have been created and prioritised through sprints held with the taskforce (consisting of industry stakeholders and CaSTCo partners) and will continue to be developed to incorporate evidence from the project and to respond to the outcomes of the Cunliffe Review. Work will continue on testing our critical proofs of concept including a citizen science data hub, local evidence packs and a quality assurance approach for monitoring with input from other technical experts. CaSTCo successes and achievements to date will be published across our website and through wide dissemination through webinars and our conference on 24th September 2025 in London. An impact report will be published in the Summer 2025 which will underpin our Roadmap for the future with the stories from the project that showcase the value of the CaSTCo approach and the significant opportunities for a much more effective and targeted monitoring and decision-making approach that a national scale up would deliver.
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For more information on Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative, take a look at the following resources:
