Irwell catchment evidence and measures workshop

On Friday 10th February 2017 members of the River Irwell catchment partnership met to discuss project priorities across the Irwell catchment, based on detailed evidence and local knowledge.

Organised by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Rivers Trust, the workshop was designed to help members of the catchment partnership and other Greater Manchester organisations understand the water quality challenges faced by the Irwell catchment and where the opportunities lie to work together and collectively make a difference in the future.

The workshop focused on the findings of a detailed study carried out by APEM Ltd, who were asked to collate and analyse relevant data sets and existing studies, to provide a tested evidence base for the causes of the main water management issues across the River Irwell catchment.

The workshop was attended by 30 partnership members, who heard an overview of the catchment and then discussed detailed opportunities within the 28 waterbodies or local management units that go together to make up the River Irwell catchment.

The workshop participants contributed their local knowledge and expertise to the initial findings of the study. APEM Ltd will now collate all the information provided and produce a final project report by the end of February 2017. The report will be used to develop further projects as part of the Natural Course EU LIFE Integrated Project and to help the Irwell catchment partnership to develop a detailed management plan for the River Irwell catchment.

The workshop followed a similar session aimed at understanding and developing a series of maps for targeting catchment-scale Natural Flood Risk Management (NFRM) across the River Irwell catchment. Together, the two pieces of work provide a step change in understanding of the opportunities to use a Natural Capital approach to deliver water quality and flood risk management benefits across the River Irwell catchment.