"We are pleased to see that farmers will receive more government support to help them deal with this punishing summer of drought. The Rivers Trust works with a lot of farmers, who have a significant role to play in the health of rivers which can - when properly managed - help protect against climate extremes like drought and flooding.

“We'd especially like to see farmers given permitted development rights and other incentives to build on-farm reservoirs, which can be built at a lower cost, faster pace, and with less impact on the environment than large-scale ones but comes with too much of a regulatory burden at the moment. This should be part of a wider effort to support farmers in making more space for water, using nature-based measures to store it in a healthy landscape and thus improving our preparedness for the extreme consequences of our changing climate."

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of The Rivers Trust

Notes to Editor

Read our previous press statement: Drought exposes need for systemic change in water management: https://theriverstrust.org/press-releases/press-statement-drought-exposes-need-for-systemic-change-in-water-management

Find out more about our call to Make Space for Water: https://www.makingspaceforwater.com/

For more information, contact:

Rebecca Duncan

Media & Events Lead, The Rivers Trust

[email protected] 