Impact case study database

Historically, the water industry has provided clean drinking water through expensive engineering solutions. Climate change and population growth are challenging the cost-effectiveness of such approaches, with business-as-usual costs projected to double by 2030. In response, all UK water companies are exploring nature-based approaches to water resource management. Until recently, their reliability and cost-effectiveness was unquantified. This research impacts the water industry by quantifying the environmental and economic return of alternative approaches to water resource management:

4.1 Demonstrable environmental benefits

Novel research generated high-resolution understanding of moorland ecohydrology resulting in an optimal approach to deliver peatland restoration which led to:

• Reduced discolouration of water supply and reduced water treatment costs, with a 65:1 benefit-to-cost ratio [ 3.1]. Water discolouration (commonly caused on Exmoor by Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) exports from the peatland) is a major cause of complaints. As a result of the peatland restoration process SWW report up to 43% decrease in DOC export [ 5.1].

• Increased water retention in restored catchments, with water loss decreasing 22-35% for a given rainfall input (6,630 Olympic-sized swimming pools from Exmoor [ 5.2]), and an average water table increase up to 10cm (in some areas as much as 21cm). This has improved water supply resilience [ 5.1].

• Natural flood management and reduced flood risk, positively impacting on Environment Agency national policy on flood management, releasing spend of £1.2M in the south west, securing £15M nationally and informing the decision on how to allocate £6BN capital investment in flood risk management schemes between 2021 and 2027 [ 5.3] .

• Enhanced carbon storage in soils and vegetation; restoration on Exmoor will prevent loss of 104,000 tCO2e over 20 years, at a value of ca. £1.04M [ 3.1]. This understanding has shaped planning for future environmental management. The Environment Agency Area Director (Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) commented: ‘Prof. Brazier’s research has helped the Environment Agency to influence the development of the next Dartmoor National Park Authority Management Plan, which now has a section on natural processes. The land restoration work which he has been part of will contribute directly to land restoration targets in Defra’s 25 year Environment Plan and the UK Peatland Strategy 2018-2040’ [ 5.3].

These benefits are endorsed by industry awards [ 5.4] the Wildlife and Countryside Link, ranking SWW 1st in their ‘Blueprint for Water’ assessment [ 5.5] of environmental performance and recognition of direct research impact by the Environment Agency:

‘Prof. Brazier’s research and his approach to communicating the results has had a significant impact on the way that flood risk is managed, both in the South West region and across the country’ [ 5.3 ].

This paradigm shift is further endorsed by the Environment Agency’s national Executive Director of Flood & Coastal Risk Management, who said:

‘The climate crisis is accelerating flood risk in this country and means we need new and integrated ways of managing that risk. This year the Environment Agency launched its new flood and coast strategy to 2100. At the heart of that strategy is the recognition that we won’t be able to build our way out of this problem – we need to blend the environment and engineering – on a catchment scale to create the best resilience to climate change. This brings natural flood management and natural solutions to the fore when tackling increased flood risk’ [ 5.6].

4.2 Transformational change of culture and practice within the water industry

SWW is a regulated monopoly and must generate profit for shareholders whilst demonstrating cost-effectiveness. The research has led directly to a cultural change in how water resources and quality improvements are planned/approved, by demonstrating that catchment restoration would allow SWW to meet regional demand for water without building new infrastructure. This avoided costs of £2-3M for every million litres per day of water stored [ 3.1]. Research also informed real-time optimisation of restoration work, leading to increased reliability, and reduced operational costs; for example, at one water treatment works, shutdowns reduced from 19 to zero over an identified 2-month period, delivering savings of £50K [ 5.1].

The research also led to reduced discolouration of water supply and water treatment costs, with a 65:1 benefit-to-cost ratio ( 3.1). Discolouration is a major cause of complaints, SWW advised that for every 1 in 1000 complaints avoided (thousands of complaints are received every year), they save £0.5M in regulatory penalties ( 5.1).

The research impact has enabled SWW to satisfy the Environment Agency, Ofwat and shareholders that landscape restoration is cost-effective, delivering wider benefits at lower cost than conventional engineering. In their business plan for 2015-20 [ 5.7], the research enabled SWW to secure £12M investment (plus £4M from Defra) for large-scale restoration of southwest peatlands. This included a Payments for Ecosystem Services scheme, in 2015 which is paying farmers £850K over 25 years to store water and carbon. In their 2020-25 business plan [ 5.8], the research enabled SWW to secure £17M to deliver land restoration targets in Defra’s 25-year Environment Plan and the UK Peatland Strategy.

SWW now have evidence-based confidence to adopt innovative approaches to water management. Ofwat fast-tracked SWW’s 2020-25 business plan, commending their ‘innovative approach to securing resilient and sustainable water resources, creating an internal water resources market’ and ‘strong evidence of partnerships and catchment strategies’ [ 5.9] .

The impact also has national reach; SWW’s positive reporting of the research [ 5.2], further endorsed by the EA [ 5.3], may encourage other water companies to adopt similar approaches. The Committee on Climate Change used research outputs in a report recommending that the area of upland peat restoration be tripled [ 5.10].

4.3 Securing long-term impact through natural capital approaches

Finally, as a direct result of the impact of this research, in their 2020-2025 business plan [ 5.8] SWW committed £21M co-funding to establish a dedicated research centre at the University of Exeter. The Centre for Resilience in the Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) embodies the ethos of co-creating environmental solutions to water resource management and will be a place to realise the potential of future impact on the water industry, an ambition that has been validated by an award of £10.5M from Research England.

The research undertaken has underpinned a paradigm shift within South West Water and the wider water sector, by demonstrating the multiple benefits of nature-based approaches to water management compared with conventional engineering solutions. Nature-based approaches have been shown to be a cost-effective means of delivering reduced discolouration of water supply and water treatment costs, increased water retention within catchments (thereby reducing flood risk and improving water supply resilience) and enhanced carbon storage in soils and vegetation. This has led directly to a cultural change in how water resources and quality improvements are planned and approved. Nature-based approaches are now widely supported across water companies, regulators, and government, and are accepted as an integral mechanism for managing precious natural resources in the face of climate change and population growth.