Led by: United Utilities
Funding amount: £6,395,499
Partners: The Rivers Trust, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, South West Water Ltd, Southern Water Services Ltd, Dŵr Cymru Anglian Water Services Ltd, Severn Trent Water Ltd, Yorkshire Water Services Ltd, Northumbrian Water Ltd, Affinity Water, South East Water, Earthwatch Institute, The Freshwater Biological Association, The Zoological Society of London, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Cardiff University, University of Exeter, Natural Course EU Life Integrated Project, Hummingbird Technologies
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.
30+ partners sponsored by Ofwat, including water companies, local communities, technical experts, academics, NGOs and UK regulators, are collaboratively building a standardised national framework of integrated environmental monitoring methods like citizen science, low-cost monitoring, real-time monitoring and modelling, and producing data to combine and visualise as insightful information, driving improved decision-making and better actions and outcomes for water and people.
For more information on this initiative, you can watch our interview with the winner below, or read the case study.
