Getting river catchments to good ecological status

The challenge & why we’re doing this

Many of the UK’s river catchments are not achieving good ecological status, despite decades of policy and investment. Pressures from agriculture, wastewater, urban runoff, and climate change continue to impact water quality, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience.

A core issue is that catchments are not yet treated as coherent, manageable systems. Data is fragmented across organisations, difficult to interpret, and rarely provides a clear view of:

• where the most important problems lie
• what interventions will make the greatest difference
• how to coordinate action across multiple stakeholders

As a result, decision-making is often reactive, investment is hard to structure, and progress is slower than it needs to be.

Our aim is to change this by turning river catchments into visible, investable and governable systems, where the pathway to good ecological status is clear, actionable, and financeable.

What we’re doing

Through the Smart Biosphere, we are delivering the Catchment Catalyst - a system-level intervention to understand, improve and finance river catchments.

Our proof of concept focuses on 92 river water bodies in Northern Devon, funded by The Crown Estate and North Devon & Torridge District Councils, with outputs due by end September 2026.

The approach combines six core elements:

1. Data capture - we bring together multiple cycles of Environment Agency data alongside datasets on livestock, land use, storm overflows, septic tanks, and other key risk factors.
2. System integration - all datasets are integrated into a single, quality-assured system at catchment scale.
3. System intelligence - we apply advanced analysis, including correlation and critical path analysis, to understand how pressures interact and where interventions will be most effective.
4. Strategy design & optimisation - we assess the value for money of different interventions and develop an optimised pathway to achieving good ecological status across the catchment.
5. Local grounding - we are building a network of 92 River Guardians and working closely with local organisations, farmers, and land managers to ensure the analysis reflects real-world conditions.
6. Public visibility & engagement - each river waterbody will have a clear, accessible dashboard, helping communities and stakeholders understand conditions, actions, and progress.

This is underpinned by a long-term data and value activation platform, enabling ongoing monitoring, coordination, and investment.

Expected outputs

This work will deliver a step-change in how catchments are understood and managed:

• Comprehensive catchment intelligence - a ranked assessment of all 92 waterbodies, including which are closest to improving or deteriorating in status
• Clear diagnosis of pressures - a scoring system identifying the most significant drivers of poor ecological condition
• Actionable pathways to improvement - detailed analysis of what is required for each waterbody to reach good ecological status
• Accessible public dashboards - 92 user-friendly dashboards providing transparent, place-based insights for communities and stakeholders
• Coordinated delivery framework - a practical plan for working with key partners including South West Water, the dairy sector, woodland owners, the Environment Agency, and planning authorities
• Investment-ready catchment plan - an overall strategy and funding plan for the catchment, supporting blended finance and private investment
• A replicable national model - a scalable approach that can be applied across other catchments in the UK

Get involved

We are actively building this model and are keen to work with partners who want to shape or apply it.

If you are:

• A farmer or land manager working within a river catchment
• A public body, regulator, or NGO
• A business or investor interested in nature-based solutions
• Exploring how this approach could be replicated elsewhere in the UK

We’d love to hear from you: naturalcapital@devon.gov.uk