Creating a Natural Flood Management (NFM) attenuation feature in the River Nar catchment to increase water storage capacity, build landscape resilience and reduce pollution.
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The River Nar is an important conservation area, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
However, with 75% of the 57-square-mile river catchment consisting of arable land, agricultural run-off poses a significant threat to water quality and aquatic habitat health, putting local biodiversity at risk.
In 2023, we began working with a farm in the River Nar catchment to mitigate the impact of agricultural pollution. The farm was identified as contributing surface water run-off from a large watershed - a land area that drains into a specific point, influencing water flow and quality. Because the run-off flowed quickly and unimpeded, it carried sediment and nutrients from the land directly into the Nar.
In addition to completing site walkovers, we mapped surface water flow pathways and assessed erosion risk. We also analysed the farm’s crop rotation and land management methods before determining the best course of action.
This led to the creation of a bespoke NFM feature, consisting of a new meandering channel and shallow water storage areas to slow the movement of water and allow it to infiltrate the soil and replenish underground aquifers, instead of flowing immediately downstream.
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By improving water retention and ground infiltration, the NFM feature reduces the transfer of sediment and nutrients from land to river, improving water quality and protecting the Nar.
It also helps mitigate downstream flood risk and strengthens farm business resilience, ensuring a more sustainable and climate-adaptive landscape for the future.
Each year, the feature enables 28,222m3 of water - equivalent of 9.4 Olympic-sized swimming pools – to be returned to the environment in a cleaner state.
This work was supported with funding from Asda and the Environment Agency. The landowner provided space for this feature by taking strategic corners of land out of production.
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