Actions planned to achieve our objectives

River basin management planning requires us to establish a programme of measures to protect water bodies currently at good or better status and restore water bodies that are not at good status. The programme for Scotland includes the latest investment planning work for Scottish Water, work with landowners to reduce pollution and ways to tackle pressures from drinking water supply, hydropower generation and flood protection.

The measures in the Scotland river basin district plan automatically feed into this area management plan, but the action plan which accompanies this document also contains information on a range of measures which will be delivered by local partners. Some of these local partner measures will contribute to water body status in a less direct way, through awareness raising and education, while others involve long-term projects and multiple partners.

The Clyde plan will deliver improvements through a combination of regulation, investment, awareness raising and guidance. A list of measures for Clyde advisory group is available, and further background information on measures is included in the Scotland river basin district plan.

Some key measures to achieve the priorities for the Clyde area and how they link to national processes are described below. Information on the key measures that the Clyde advisory group will take forward are included in the action plan on the website. These will be kept as live documents during the planning cycle and updated as more measures are developed and implemented.

Pollution

	Pressure identified as reason for not achieving good status
	Rural diffuse pollution	Urban drainage and diffuse Pollution	Point source pollution
National process	National implementation plan for diffuse pollution. Development of priority catchments process and guidance for targeted awareness raising.	National Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) working party.	Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR)
Advisory group activity	Link to priority catchment work and assist with communication.	Promotion of SUDs and drainage plans. Link with Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership (www.mgsdp.org/), Potential case studies from Clyde Integrated Habitat Networks pilot project. Focus of sub group work.	Awareness raising for disposal. Education campaigns Measures delivery plans.
Lead authorities/groups responsible for ensuring action is taken	Scotland’s Environmental and Rural Services (SEARS), National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS), Diffuse pollution management advisory group (DPMAG), Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRPBA) Focus of AAG task group	Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Water, Local Authorities Focus of AAG task group.	SEPA, Scottish Water, Coal Authority and Local authorities.

Abstraction and impoundment

	Pressure identified as reason for not achieving good status
	Water resource, agricultural irrigation	Water resource, drinking water supply	Hydropower
National process	Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR)	Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR), Scottish Water	Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR)
Advisory group activity	Targeted education on best practice, priority catchment work in Ayrshire.	Review water bodies where this pressure is identified to assess any possible contribution.	Review water bodies where this pressure is identified to assess any possible contribution.
Lead authorities responsible for ensuring action is taken	SEPA, Scottish Water, SEARS.	SEPA, Scottish Water.	SEPA

Alteration to beds, banks and shores

	Pressure identified as reason for not achieving good status
	Urban land uses and urban flood protection	Invasive Non Native Species (INNS)	Fish barrier removal.
National process	HMWB assessments and workshops, Flooding implementation.	National INNS group.	National projects to assess priority barriers.
Advisory group activity	Links to flooding groups and work of the MGSDP, identify areas for natural flood plain management.	Ayrshire Biosecurity plan. Review water bodies where this pressure is identified to identify future projects to eradicate INNS.	Review water bodies where this pressure is identified and encourage restoration fund applications.
Lead authorities responsible for ensuring action is taken	Local authorities, National park authorities, SEPA.	SEPA, SNH, Ayrshire Fisheries Trust, Clyde River foundation.	Local authorities, SEPA, SNH.

Clyde advisory group members have also identified a range of ongoing and future projects which can secure additional improvements in water body status. Examples include research and awareness raising work and the Clyde pilot project looking at multiple benefits of delivering integrated habitat networks and river basin planning objectives.

Existing catchment management planning and integrated drainage partnerships, like the Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership, are also well established in the area. The Clyde area management plan must link closely with these without trying to replicate them. It is hoped that river basin management planning can offer information and data and an overarching framework.

Putting the plan into action: 2010

This section outlines the work plan for the Clyde advisory group during 2010. The work plan will be updated annually and links to work of other groups, updates and more information will be added as they become available.

The work plan for the Clyde advisory group can be found on SEPA’s website at www.sepa.org.uk/water/river_basin_planning/area_advisory_groups/clyde.aspx

Detailed information about measures can be found through the web based interactive map at www.sepa.org.uk/water/river_basin_planning.aspx.

The Clyde advisory group will have a number of roles in taking forward the actions required to deliver river basin management planning at an area level. The group will help to identify actions needed in the Clyde advisory group area and to translate nationally agreed actions into work on the ground. The group will co-ordinate action, identify gaps, where key pressures have been identified, but no action yet agreed, and consider how best to tackle these gaps.

The Clyde are advisory group proposes to use task groups to take actions forward or where there is an existing group, to work with them to deliver river basin management planning objectives. An overview of the task groups and existing groups which the Clyde advisory group will work with to deliver river basin management planning are included in the work plan. The advisory group will retain an overview role and progress of the work with these groups will report back to the full group on 10 June 2010 and 9 December 2010.

One of the key tasks is to produce the catchment profiles between now and December 2010. The first ten catchment profiles will be produced by June 2010, starting with the Kelvin Catchment. A schedule of development of catchment summaries can be found in the work plan and once produced they will be available on SEPA’s website at www.sepa.org.uk/water/river_basin_planning/area_advisory_groups/clyde.aspx

This approach is designed to ensure that:

the Scotland river basin district plan and national strategies are followed;
actions carried out at an area level are focused on pressures in that area;
leads and partners identified;
timing of actions with each cycle is efficient and coordinated;
the role of the AAG identified to help formulate a work programme for the AAG (and coordinator);
there is flexibility to develop new measures throughout the cycle whilst ensuring the main aims are followed;
allows for annual monitoring of progress against an annually agreed work programme as well as against main aims of the area management plan.