Introduction to the Tweed area management plan

The water environment of the Tweed forms a vital part of the area’s economy, community, wildlife and landscape. It contributes to the economy by supporting key industries such as farming, tourism and fishing. It also provides our drinking and bathing waters while supporting internationally important habitats and their species. It is therefore in everyone’s interest to ensure that it is maintained and improved wherever possible.

Aims of this area management plan

This area management plan has been produced to focus our attention of the condition of the water environment in the Tweed area and what actions are necessary to maintain and improve it.

This plan presents the current condition of the water environment in the Tweed area and goes on to outline the actions required to maintain and/or improve this environment over the next six years and beyond. These targets have been developed as part of the Solway Tweed river basin management plan published in December 2009 as a requirement of the Water Framework Directive.

As the waters in the Tweed straddle the English and Scottish Border, this plan has been developed jointly by SEPA and the Environment Agency, incorporating the experience and skills of the long established Tweed Forum, which has been delivering catchment scale improvements since 1991 through internationally acclaimed partnership working and delivery of the Tweed catchment management plan. The members of the Tweed Forum Executive Committee, supplemented by several key stakeholders, meet as the Tweed Area Advisory Group and have helped to inform and shape this plan. Membership of the Tweed Area Advisory Group is made up of representatives from the following organisations.

Ahlstrom Chirnside	Northumbrian Water Limited
Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast European Marine Site	The River Tweed Commission
Consumer Council for Water	Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Country Land and Business Association	Scottish Borders Council
Environment Agency	Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Forestry Commission Scotland	Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspectorate Division
National Farmers Union Scotland	Scottish Rural Property and Business Association
Natural England	Scottish Natural Heritage
Northumberland County Council	Scottish Water
Northumberland National Park Authority	Tweed Forum Staff
Northumberland Wildlife Trust	Tweed Foundation

This document has been designed to supplement the Solway Tweed river basin management plan and dovetail with the Tweed catchment management plan.

Area covered in this plan

This plan includes information on the Tweed water environment, defined as surface waters (eg rivers, lochs, estuaries and coastal water bodies) and those beneath the ground (groundwaters). It considers rivers with a catchment area of more than 10 km² and lochs with a surface area greater than 0.5 km².

Using these criteria this plan covers 166 river water bodies along the River Tweed and its tributaries (Gala, Ettrick, Teviot, and the Till to the south and the River Whiteadder in the north), 6 lochs, the estuary at the mouth of the Tweed at Berwick upon Tweed and 33 groundwater bodies (see Map 1).

The Water Framework Directive requires targets to be set for wetland areas that depend either on groundwater or surface water. The current groundwater body classification includes an assessment of the impact from groundwater quantity pressures on wetlands, and in the English water bodies the impact from groundwater quality pressures is also assessed. Both the Environment Agency and SEPA aim to classify and set targets for all types of wetland for future river basin cycles. To enable this process, work has begun on the assessment of wetland types and to improve our understanding of the influences and interactions between wetlands, groundwater and surface waters. This includes establishing a Scotland wetland inventory which will incorporate data and research from initiatives such as the recently produced Tweed wetland strategy 2010 and the Cairngorms wetland vision 2010, along with additional research and monitoring and ongoing UK and European Union co-operation.

To the north of the Tweed catchment lies the Eye catchment, which falls within the Scottish Forth advisory group area and is led by SEPA. To the south lies the Northumbrian river basin district, which is led by the Environment Agency.

Map 1: Area covered in this plan – the Tweed advisory group area (click for larger image)