Water Quality Training Day, 8 Dec 2016

EXERCISE: INTRODUCTION TO THE CaBA MONITORING PLAN (PART OF A CaBA CATCHMENT PLAN

Questions to answer:

  1. What is CaBA plan and why is it needed?
  2. What is a CaBA monitoring plan and what value does it add?
  3. What types of monitoring are there?
  4. Can I develop a monitoring plan for my catchment this afternoon?
  5. What next?

1. What is the CaBA catchment plan and why is it needed?(10 minutes)

It is easier to start with three things that the CaBA catchment plan is not:

A duplication of all the other plans that already exist (WFD Catchment Plan, Flood Risk Management Plan, Countryside Stewardship Statements of Priorities, Local Authority plans)

A large written document (this is expensive and time consuming to produce).

More paperwork that does not help the partnership deliver projects.

There are four sections in a CaBA plan all of which are aimed at increasing the delivery of projects in the catchment and are taken from developing good practice from across the country. Every CaBA catchment in England already has at least one section of their plan; most have two or three sections; none have all four as far as we know! A plan develops as the partnership develops, the more work you are delivering, the more robust the planning will need to be.

Section 1: The CaBA Vision for the catchment. This can be as short as a statement.

Section 2: The evidence base. Every catchment has access to this (local data, CaBA Data&GIS pack, output from models like SciMap).

Section 3: A list of (shovel ready) projects which move the Vision forward as well as WFD, Flood Risk, Countryside Stewardship and Local Authority priorities. The EA have developed a project mandate form in the NW and some CaBA partnerships are using the CaBA Aspirational Projects Template.

Section 4: A monitoring plan. This is what we will develop this afternoon.Monitoring measurements are expensive to collect and to archive. Monitoring should be used cost effectively as part of the weight of evidence, along with modelling and 'soft' evidence (such as anecdotal knowledge).

Q1: Do you consider that you have a catchment plan that will release your hosting funding? (Y/N)......

  • Does your catchment have a 'Vision' statement or set of objectives? (Y/N)...... If not why not borrow and adapt one from other catchment partnerships? 88002415
  • Every catchment has a Data&GIS evidence base. Do you have all three data packages that have been released ?(Y/N)...... If not email: –River Points
  • Do you have a list of shovel ready projects?(Y/N)......
  • Do you have a monitoring plan? (Y/N)...... We only know of one catchment that does!397700

2. What is a CaBA monitoring plan and what value does it bring?(10 minutes)

A CaBA monitoring plan is a table or short document which sets out three things:

  • Why monitoring is being done (the objective);
  • What monitoring will be done (the approach);
  • How the results will be used and archived (the use).

The value that a monitoring plan brings is to ensure that time and money spent on monitoring leads to greater delivery of projects in the catchment and to a better understanding of what is successful. There is examples of monitoring plans in section 4 which is a slightly amended version of the well-respected RRC 'PRAGMO' approach supported by the EA.

Q2:Why take a series of spot samples of phosphorus from a river in a rural area? Pick one objective from the list below, there is not a right answer but be ready to give some reasons for the one you choose.

  • To identify if the eutrophication of reservoir Y is due to high phosphorus concentrations in River X.
  • To identify where the majority of the phosphorus that is causing ecological problems in River X comes from; diffuse vs. point .
  • To identify whether mitigation measures are required to improve raw water quality for a drinking water abstraction.
  • To understand why ecological status is poor in River X.

Q3:Whatmonitoring could be used to take spot samples of phosphorus from a river in a rural area? Pick one approach from the list below that is compatible with your Why above

  • Citizen science using a Freshwater watch 'Blitz' approach.
  • Opportunistic sampling along River X with Hanna meter using rivers trust employee or similar who works in the area.
  • Review location of WIMS monitoring point and fill in the spatial gaps by monitoring on the same day as the WIMS sampling is done.

Q4: How will the data be used? Pick one use from the list below that is compatible with your What above

  • Plot up spatially/rank etc. to identify priority tributaries.
  • Estimate the phosphorus load into reservoir Y.
  • Estimate peak phosphorus concentration in River X to compare with WFD threshold.
  • Provide answers to your hypothesis testing questions such as "How much of the phosphorus load in the river is related to runoff from areas of agricultural land?"

3. What types of monitoring are there?(5 minutes)

There are three types of monitoring:

  • Investigation. To improve our understanding of the state the river is in now and the causes of the problems which have already been identified; to test our hypotheses or answer specific questions.
  • Project appraisal. A key part of adaptive management (learning by doing) is to measure the success of our projects so that subsequent projects deliver more of what works.
  • Surveillance. To get early warning of future problems.

Why does the 'type' of monitoring matter? It affects the Why, What and Howof our monitoring effort and helps identify where/if the data collected should be archived.

Q5: The questions or statements below define the Why, (i.e. the objective)for a specific piece of monitoring, define the 'type' for each statement.

  • Have the improvements in the ecology in stream X been sustained?......
  • Where are the misconnections which are polluting stream X?......
  • Has fish passage been improved in river X as a result of Project Y?......
  • Where is the source of high ammonia concentrations in stream X?......

4. Can I develop a monitoring plan for my catchment this afternoon ? (30 min)

Yes. The A3 monitoring plan attached is basically the RRC PRAGMO approach, with a few slight modifications to make it suitable for all monitoring, not just project appraisal. The first few rows have been filled in with examples from around the country. Fill in up to five monitoring initiatives which you are planning or would like to plan for your catchment. Ideally include at least one from the EA(for example some investigative monitoring) because non-regulatory monitoring conducted by the EA should be an important part of any CaBA monitoring plan. Pick the brain of any of the presenters to help you refine the design of your monitoring effort, we won't know the answer but we should know an answer!

5. What next?(10 minutes)

We have written guidance for Catchment Management Plans. This guidance includes examples of all the four sections of a plan (listed on p1 above) and templates to fill in (like the RRC PRAGMO based monitoring plan). The guidance tries to distil the good ideas and good practice that we have seen CaBA partnerships developing across the country. So, the guidance will change as partnerships refine their approach and as key CaBA organisations, including the EA, provide feedback on how we can align our planning with theirs. This last session is for us to record your feedback on the developing approach.

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