Showcase shines a light on Welsh Water collaboration with Bannau Brycheiniog farmers
A request to see first-hand some of the trial work being undertaken by the Bannau Brycheiniog Water Group (BWG) turned into a golden opportunity to highlight the close working relationship the group has with the Drinking Water Catchment Team.
The request was made by the Wales Land Management Forum’s Agri-pollution subgroup (WLMF). This collaborative group was set up to focus on tackling agricultural pollution and to collaboratively shape recommendations for Welsh Government and provide a framework to improve water quality in Welsh Rivers.
Being part of the group gives us an opportunity to co-design recommendations and opportunities to collaborate with other stakeholders.
The Beacons Water Group was established under Welsh Water’s Bannau Brycheiniog Mega Catchment initiative (BBMC), our landscape-scale approach to safeguarding our drinking water sources now and for the future.
One of its members, Alun Thomas of Upper Pendre Farm in Llangorse, hosted the WLMF sub-group and let them see first-hand the pilots and interventions being supported by Welsh Water to deliver improvements to farm efficiency whilst reducing diffuse pollution risks.
Speaking after the event Professor Rhys Jones (NRW Board Member and Chair of the Wales Land Management Forum (WLMF) Sub Group on Agricultural Pollution) said:
“Members of the Wales Land Management Forum’s Sub-Group on Agricultural Pollution learnt a lot from our visit to the Beacons Water Group.
“We were impressed with the way in which the Group, with the support of Welsh Water, were using new methods to reduce pollution on their farms.
“We were impressed by the use of local weather stations to inform decisions around the spreading of muck, the use of LiDAR to model runoff and, in conjunction with Aberystwyth University, trials of the use of different crops as buffer strips.
“Members of the Sub-Group were very keen to explore ways of upscaling the work of the Beacons Water Group so that it could inform agricultural practices elsewhere in Wales.
“Our thanks go to the Beacons Water Group and Welsh Water for arranging this informative visit and for their warm welcome.”
His thoughts were echoed by Nigel Elgar, a project manager who works closely with the BWG. He said:
“The visit was a real opportunity for WLMF members to see how closely we work with the farmers in the group and the difference of our approach to meeting challenges to water quality through improving farm efficiency.
“This partnership is guiding our direction of travel for our catchment management approach in Wales, and we are using the lessons learnt from working with BWG as a stepping stone for engaging the wider farming community to improve the resilience of our water treatment works for the benefit of our customers while also supporting farming business.”
View from the top. Members from the Wales Land Management Forum’s agri-pollution sub group visit Upper Pendre Farm in Llangorse.
Developing Productive Buffers project. Rhun Fychan from IBERS at Aberystwyth University’s talks about the latest project on Upper Pendre Farm.
Weather stations on farms. Nigel Elgar from Welsh Water and John Owen from Coleg Sir Gar introduce the WLMF to on-farm weather stations.