South West

Regional Network Analysis test summary

The primary objective of this test is to assess the linkages between different partnerships and groups at a local, county, area and regional level focused on water/environmental management. This will including the Regional wide West Country Water Resource Group (now called West Country Water Environment), the Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, the Local Nature Partnerships where functional and the Catchment Partnerships. This networking will be done through the KUMU platform and will inform following work looking at the level of connectivity between groups (closeness) as well as exploring the nature of any connectors providing information between groups.

Crowding in benefits to surface water separation

The primary objective of this test is to crowd in benefits during the reduction of surface water entering the sewage network in the Bidwell Brook (lower river Dart) catchment, which are often overwhelmed during periods of heavy rainfall. When the capacity of these systems is exceeded, untreated sewage can be discharged into local watercourses, leading to serious water quality issues and environmental damage. WRT is looking to crowd in funding to mitigate not only this but other benefits (e.g. water resources or BNG) to showcase delivery of nature-based solutions such as the installation of ponds, wetlands, riparian buffer zones, and agroforestry could be introduced to slow the flow of water and reduce surface water in the network.