ColneCAN Partnership
The Colne Catchment Action Network Partnership (ColneCAN) was established in 2011 and is hosted by the Chilterns Chalk Stream and Thames Valley Groundwork’s. The ColneCAN ties together the work of the Colne Valley Regional Park and the Chilterns Chalk Stream Project with the wider catchment. ColneCAN brings together water companies, local authorities, charities, anglers, conservationists, other stakeholders and local residents to ensure catchment-wide thinking and local action.
We are working closely with local environmental groups and, more recently, a number of catchment partnerships in the Colne catchment. Our catchment management team regularly monitors the River Colne and its tributaries for untreated water quality and undertakes a wide range of surveys and activities, to help us understand the potential impacts of pollution on our water abstractions.
River Monitoring
Our Catchment Team undertakes routine river water quality monitoring at strategic sites along the rivers in the Colne catchment to help us understand the source and pathways of pollution which could enter our water abstraction.
Catchment Risk Assessments and Land Use Surveys
Our Catchment Team undertakes risk assessments for each source of abstraction using Environment Agency groundwater source protection zones to identify surrounding land uses (such as industrial, residential and agricultural), their associated pollutants and the potential impact to our abstractions and treatment processes. This helps us to understand the local catchment, the source and pathway for potential pollutants, as well as any potential impacts on our abstractions.
Partnership working
Our Catchment Team works closely with a wide range of partners, from neighbouring water companies, the Environment Agency, Natural England and local environment groups to identify ways to improve water quality. We strongly support and work alongside the Colne Can Catchment Partnership.
In addition, we also support water industry research to further enhance the way in which we manage risks, through better technology at the source, in the catchment and at our treatment works.
www.colnecan.org.uk