Mitigating agricultural and moorland water pollution in drinking water supply catchments in northern England

A seminar by Paul Kay from the University of Leeds

10.30am - 12 noon on Thursday 30 April at The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen.

Attendance is free, but places must be booked by contacting Kirsty Blackstock on 01224 395000 or by email

This seminar provides an overview of recent catchment management research undertaken by the University of Leeds and Yorkshire Water. In 2005, Yorkshire Water established a formal partnership with the University of Leeds to deliver a host of catchment management research projects. A range of subject areas has been investigated, including water colour (dissolved organic carbon), nutrients, and pesticides.

All projects have attempted to design and implement land management strategies to improve water quality and reduce treatment costs. Moreover, the work has played, and continues to do so, a key role in helping Yorkshire Water to meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. For water colour management we are now undertaking large-scale catchment studies to determine the impacts of grip blocking, moorland burning and vegetation manipulation.

Other work has sought to implement on-farm changes through programmes of advice with varying levels of success. Particular problems have included securing uptake by farmers, the limited potential of measures in certain agricultural scenarios and the fact that catchment management will not impact water quality in groundwater dominated catchments for decades. Whilst significant progress appears to be happening with regard to moving towards limiting water colour, reducing agricultural nutrient pollution is likely to need more radical approaches than those currently being pursued.

Dr Paul Kay

Dr Paul Kay holds the post of Yorkshire Water Research Fellow at the University of Leeds.

His research focuses on the impacts of land-use on hydrology and water quality. Particular attention has been given to the effects of agriculture and projects have researched the fate and effects of a range of pollutants, including nutrients, pesticides, veterinary medicines and sediment. Impacts on flooding have also been studied. Other work has investigated the impacts of upland land management on the delivery of sediment to reservoirs. Also in the uplands, several projects have been undertaken looking at dissolved organic carbon in surface waters. All of these projects have focussed on the development of sustainable land management strategies to improve water quality. To this end, research has been carried out for a range of key organisations, including Defra, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the water industry and the European Commission.

More information on Paul Kay