Norfolk, UK: Water Roadmap Collective Action Project

The challenges in Norfolk’s waters

Found in the East of England, the Norfolk, Cam and Ely Ouse (CamEO) catchments are well known for their rolling countryside and vast fields that supply everything from potatoes and sugar beet to outdoor-reared pork and poultry. The region plays a vital role in UK agriculture, producing around 64% of England’s sugar beet, 33% of its potatoes and accounts for 28% of the country’s pig population.  

It also boasts rare, internationally recognised chalk streams. These clear, spring-fed lowland rivers provide nutrient-rich freshwater that supports a wide variety of aquatic plants and wildlife, making them some of the most biodiverse freshwater habitats in the UK.

But rivers across Norfolk and the CamEO catchments are battling to stay healthy. They face widespread pollution from years of farmland soil erosion and runoff, worsened by intensive wet conditions. At the same time, Norfolk faces the long-term pressures of being one of the UK’s driest regions. Its water resources are under increasing strain from a growing population and a high demand for irrigation and food production.

Climate change is making these issues worse with weather patterns becoming more unpredictable and extreme. Practical, long-term solutions are needed to reduce erosion, protect water quality and ensure enough water for people, wildlife, and farming.

That’s where the Water Roadmap comes in. This Collection Action Project is working with farmers and supply chains to build water resilience across Norfolk.

What we’re doing to protect water in Norfolk

Working alongside Norfolk Rivers Trust, we’re supporting farmers, businesses and local partners to deliver hands-on solutions that protect soil, improve biodiversity and keep water in the landscape. Together we are:

• Showcasing regenerative farming in action through best practice guidance developed by Norfolk Rivers Trust on strategies for potato and sugar beet growers and improving soil stability and sustainability under outdoor pig systems
• Supporting farmers with bespoke advice including one-to-one visits, tailored farm management plans and risk mapping to identify opportunities for sustainable water and soil management.
• Collaborating with businesses across food supply chains to develop projects that support sustainable farming practices and improve the structure and health of soil. These approaches help soil soak up rainwater, which in turn reduces erosion and runoff, protects water quality and reduces the need for artificial water supply
• Delivering nature-based solutions, such as attenuation ponds, to slow the flow of water, recharge water stores and create biodiversity-rich habitats.
• Developing and facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration throughout the supply chain to boost continuous improvement and shared learning between farmers and suppliers.

Whether your business grows or sources from Norfolk and the CamEO area, you have a role to play in protecting their water.

You don’t have to go it alone – join the Water Roadmap to access guidance and help support this important project.

Our impact in Norfolk so far

So far, the Collective Action Project in Norfolk has engaged more than 70 farmers and collaborated with 25 stakeholders to share best practices for sustainable farming and better water management, with over 10 active plans in place. Some of the measures to improve water availability and quality include cover cropping to improve soil health, tree and hedge planting to prevent soil erosion, and undersowing maize to minimise soil disturbances and nutrient runoff after crops have been harvested.  

Around 4 hectares of land that was previously ploughed and used for planting crops has been transformed into an attenuation feature, which captures runoff from surrounding fields and releases it slowly back into the ground. This has the potential to return 9 million litres of water back into underground water stores. Sowed with wildflowers, it is also strengthening the structure of the soil and boosting biodiversity.

Progress is only possible thanks to the support of Water Roadmap members and partners who are helping fund on-the-ground delivery and promoting sustainable water management in their supply chains.

Scaling up: action still needed

Rivers across Norfolk should be thriving lifelines for nature, food production and local communities. Now is the time to restore it. We need more businesses that source from or work in the region to step up, champion water stewardship across their supply chains, and fund the next phase of this critical work.

By joining the Water Roadmap, your participation will drive:

1. The expansion of on-farm interventions to strengthen soil, reduce runoff and protect surrounding waterways to more high-risk areas.
2. More collaboration with farmers and businesses to exchange knowledge-sharing and best practices on sustainable water management, including the launch of supplier focus groups to share learnings, address common challenges and drive practical solutions.
3. The design and delivery of crop trials to test practical solutions for enhancing soil and water sustainability, with a focus on sharing learning and scaling successful approaches.
4. Learnings and solutions that can be implemented in other current and future Water Roadmap projects.