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Water use considerations:

-How much water will be needed throughout the year for crops and livestock

-Whether existing water sources are reliable and can be utilised

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Water courses:

-Ensure there is no water runoff that could contaminate fresh water sources with manure or fertilisers

-Maintain the stability and structure of the soil and banks on natural water courses to reduce erosion and the loss of sediment

-Manage the possibility and event of flooding and the drainage that would be needed

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Legislation from the statutory instrument 151: The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural

Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018

8. A land manager must ensure that organic manure is not applied to agricultural land within 50 metres of a spring, well or borehole.

(1)  A land manager must ensure that poaching is prevented within 5 metres of inland freshwaters or coastal waters.

(2)       The land manager must ensure that a livestock feeder is not positioned on agricultural land

(a)    within 10 metres of inland freshwaters or coastal waters, or (b) within 50 metres of a spring, well or borehole.

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When it comes to:

Water use – calculate livestock and crop requirements, monitor usage, fix leaks, and avoid over-watering to reduce waste and runoff.

Water courses – identify nearby streams/ditches, maintain buffer strips, prevent manure or fertiliser spreading near water, and restrict livestock access to reduce pollution and bank damage.

Water sources – know where water comes from, ensure abstraction licences are in place if required, install storage, and have contingency plans for supply interruptions or drought.

Other – test private water supplies regularly, store slurry and silage safely, and follow nutrient planning to protect water quality and improve long-term sustainability.

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Water source considerations:

-Whether or not the sources is safe for livestock consumption

-Risk from upstream pollution

-Abstraction license for taking water from groundwater, rivers or lakes

-Limitations of abstraction in the event of a drought

-Cost considerations between mains water vs utilising boreholes or reservoirs

-Energy usage and cost for pumping groundwater

-Labour and management time needed

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water use considerations:

How much water will be needed throughout the year and ensure there is a strong enough water supply.

If abstracting water from rivers or streams for irrigation ensure you have the correct license and abstraction allowance

water courses:

Ensure there is enough margin around the outside of fields so when spraying and fertilizing the water in the ditches don't get contaminated. Is usually 1 meter from top of ditch this can vary on the type of chemical.

Try to minimise runoff and stop soil and sediment getting in steams as this leaches nutrients and nitrogen into the water. This can lead to fish dying and loss of soil off fields

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if abstracting water make sure you have a licence from the environment agency if it is over 20 cubic meters of surface or ground water being extracted per day.

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If water supply is interrupted then you have to identify where the issue is (private or mains) and who else may be effected. Inform the relevant organisations and reduce water use where possible. If the situation lasts, identify how much clean water is needed and install tanks etc for water to be delivered

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Natural springs and on farm water sources.

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Natural springs and on farm water sources.

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Farmers using natural springs or other on‑farm water sources have to think about more than just whether the water is there. natural springs are different from boreholes, rivers, or man made pools.

A spring is part of a wider groundwater system, so farmers need to understand how stable and reliable it is. some springs run all year round, some dry up in the summer, a farmer needs to know the expected minimum flow of the spring is before they start planning using it for irrigation or livestock use.

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make sure that there is a constant supply of water, during the winter if excess water is there then store it to be able to use in the summer in case of a drought.

when irrigating during hot periods of the year, doing it at night reduces the evaporation making it more effective.

make sure the water quality is at the right levels for the crop that you are growing.

for long term water security have an on farm reservoir, shared water storage schemes, water trading agreements or a plan for when there's a drought