Our Water Environment James Humphrys Area Manager – Solent & South Downs

2 Environment Agency role Ensure we meet the objectives of the SE River Basin Management Plan The focus in West Sussex: Water Resources – water quantity and flow Water Quality – diffuse pollution Working with others to find solutions

3 Water Resources Sustainable abstraction. A balance across water companies, farmers, industry, recreation and habitat. Abstraction licence review to ensure no environmental damage is caused. Time Limited Licences New Authorisations Abstraction reform

Abstraction Licence Review 4 Time Limited Licences. Many licences have now reached the end of their time limit. Licence and conditions to be reviewed. New Authorisations. Brings currently exempt licences (e.g. Trickle irrigation) under licensing control Fairer – creates a level playing field for all abstractors DEFRA consultation out December 2015 Engage with us early

The Future - Abstraction Reform 5 Current licensing system needs to change Not flexible enough to account for climate change or population growth Want to state more clearly the reliability of licences to abstractors Better reflect the value of water – enable licence trading We’d like to engage with you on this locally

Water Quality 6 Main issue Rain water that runs off agricultural and urban land = elevated Phosphates in rivers, Nitrates in groundwater We focus on ‘Protected Areas’ such as European Designated sites and Drinking Water Protection Areas Catchment scale solutions are needed that consider land- use practice

7 Priority Phosphate Areas

Our Water Environment James Humphrys Area Manager – Solent & South Downs