Evenlode Catchment Partnership secures Water Restoration Fund award

Wild Oxfordshire has been awarded a significant delivery grant from the Water Restoration Fund for the Evenlode Catchment Partnership (ECP). This grant will go towards to restoring and enhancing the water environment in the Evenlode catchment.

The River Evenlode rises out of the limestone that underlies the Cotswolds, flowing south-east towards the clay vales of the River Thames. The catchment contains 16 river water bodies, none of which currently achieve good ecological status.

Wild Oxfordshire is the host organisation for the ECP, a dynamic collaboration of over 20 organisations and countless individuals united by a shared commitment to improving the water environments within the Evenlode catchment. Since its establishment in 2014, the ECP has been dedicated to enhancing water quality, improving flood management, enriching biodiversity, and fostering greater community engagement with the River Evenlode and its tributaries.

The ECP’s work is wide-ranging and impactful. Projects focus on addressing key environmental challenges like raw sewage spills and pollution, which severely impact water quality and local biodiversity. A network of volunteer citizen scientists regularly samples the water quality across the catchment, collecting data and evidencing the need for improvement. Natural flood management (NFM) interventions have reduced flood risk to rural homes, while reconnecting rivers to their floodplains and creating wetlands has restored natural habitats. The outreach and education team has reached over 3000 schoolchildren and young people in the last four years, inspiring the next generation to enjoy and look after their rivers.

Ann Berkeley, ECP Project Manager, said, “This newly secured funding from the Water Restoration Fund will enable the ECP to continue its vital work towards returning the River Evenlode and its tributaries to good ecological status.”

This award will fund water quality monitoring including citizen science, river and habitat restoration, NFM, and public engagement. This will be delivered in collaboration with our partners, Earthwatch Europe and Cotswolds National Landscape (CNL).

Find out more about the ECP’s work at www.evenlodecatchment.org.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For further information and media inquiries, please contact Ann Berkeley ann@wildoxfordshire.org.uk 01865 407429

About the Evenlode Catchment Partnership (ECP)

The Evenlode Catchment Partnership was established in 2014 and is a collaborative effort aimed at preserving and enhancing the water quality and ecological health of the River Evenlode and its tributaries. Comprising local organisations, conservationists, and citizen scientists, the ECP is committed to safeguarding the natural environment for the benefit of future generations. 

About the Water Restoration Fund

The Water Restoration Fund is a UK government initiative administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Water Restoration Fund has up to £11 million to fund local projects. The Fund will be used to restore and enhance the water environment in specified geographical areas, using environmental fines and penalties collected from water and sewerage companies in those areas between April 2022 and October 2023.

A successful project under this Fund must focus on improving and preventing further deterioration of the water environment in the geographical regions where the fines and penalties were issued. This includes supporting:

• water bodies to return to good ecological status, ecological potential, or chemical status; or prevent further deterioration from the current ecological status, ecological potential, or chemical status.
• water-dependent protected sites to return to or remain at favourable condition.
• the restoration of other water-dependent habitats and species especially where action supports restoration of associated protected sites or water bodies.