Anglian claims success as campaign cuts slug-killer levels in run-off by 98%

Anglian Water has claimed success in its six-year campaign to reduce levels of slug pesticide, metaldehyde, with farmers’ voluntary engagement with the project at 100% uptake and metaldehyde levels down by more than 98%.

Anglian’s Slug It Out scheme began in 2015 in the Anglian Water region. It was based on incentivising farmers to replace metaldehyde with other methods to control slugs. Intervention at the catchment level addressed the difficulty in removing the substance at water treatment works and meeting tough regulatory permitted levels.

Anglian said its Water’s Catchment Management team had built relationships with more than 225 farmers around key reservoirs in the region. The team incentivised farmers to eliminate metaldehyde use by:

• paying the price difference between using metaldehyde and an acceptable alternative;

• paying a trial hosting fee; and

• offering an annual water quality bonus to be paid only if every sampling point remained below the 0.1μg/l drinking water regulatory standard.

According to Anglian, aside from the 10,500ha of land immediately around reservoirs where the campaign operated, farmers voluntarily chose not use metaldehyde on an additional 13,500ha.