SSWAN coalition calls for multi-sector catchment-based framework for water regulation

A coalition of environmentalists and water companies has published a proposal to ditch the current fragmented regulatory model for the water environment in favour of a catchment-wide approach which works across sectors and prioritises efficient nature-based and low carbon solutions.

The Sustainable Solutions for Water and Nature (SSWAN) plan seeks to align the regulatory functions that govern water, farming, planning and development control within a common overall framework. The goal is to empower the delivery of better environmental, social and economic outcomes, yielding multiple benefits.

Under the plan, the Government would set top-level national targets and policy, and alter water’s Strategic Policy Statement to oblige regulators to enable delivery of these national outcomes.

Regulators would regulate all entities that have an impact on outcomes – including water and sewerage companies, farmers and developers – and be accountable for delivery and responsible for monitoring and enforcement. To support this, they would create Joint Area teams, each responsible for ten catchments. These teams would determine catchment-specific outcomes; set legally binding targets for all entities; and define monitoring requirements and who should carry them out.

The Joint Area Teams would have a duty to take account of the advice of Catchment Advisory Boards which would be set up in each catchment to represent local stakeholders. These boards would advise regulators on desired outcomes based on local priorities, and on how targets should be allocated to each organisation type.

Regulated entities would have significant flexibility in how they deliver the outcomes.

The SSWAN partners are: Green Alliance, the RSPB, The Rivers Trust, Wessex Water, The Wildlife Trusts, CIWEM, The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Sustainability First and Water UK. The work was launched at last week’s summit, Getting what you pay for, hosted by The Water Report and Indepen.

For details, and SSWAN’s Call to Action for the next Parliament, see https://sswan.co.uk/