Water Level Management Action Plan

The Somerset Levels and Moors project has
focussed on the Parrett Catchment, which
represents half of this area of highly engineered
floodplain. The area has a long history of
conflict between stakeholders and a number of
new challenges. As a result, the Wise Use of
Floodplains project (WUF) has targeted
creating a new consensus on how water is to be
managed, in particular looking at new ways to
achieve sustainable benefits for all stakeholders.
The project has worked very closely with the
Parrett Catchment Project (PCP), aiming to
encourage integrated catchment management,
and the Water Level Management Action Plan
(WLMAP), Environment Agency strategy for
the day-to-day management of water in the

Levels and Moors.

Somerset Levels and Moors Stakeholders
 Environment Agency
 English Nature
 RSPB
 Somerset County Council
 Levels & Moors Partnership (LAMP)

The project aims:
 to demonstrate methods to appraise the economic,
social and environmental effects of flood and coastal
plain wetland restoration and management options
 to determine how European and national policies might
need to change to facilitate the restoration of flood and
coastal plain wetlands
 to facilitate ‘on the ground’ floodplain restoration
across Europe through dissemination of guidelines and
project results

.The Parrett Catchment
The Parrett Catchment is the largest river system in
Somerset, covering 50% of the county and containing five
major rivers: the Parrett, Isle,Tone,Yeo and Cary.

The area is predominantly rural with 70% grassland and
30% arable (cereals and forage maize).The Levels & Moors
covers 64,000 ha and is the most important remaining
lowland wet grassland in England. It is a unique cultural
landscape with farmland criss-crossed by numerous ditches,
and its communities are located on ridges and ‘islands’ of
higher ground.The Levels are a coastal barrier of marine
clays, which lie about 6 m above mean sea level. In contrast,
the Moors are inland and ground levels can be as much as 
6 m below peak tide levels.The Moors are prone to
frequent flooding and act as temporary reservoirs during
large flood events.About 10% of the area is designated as a
wetland of outstanding ecological importance in a European
context (a Special Protection Area).
The Somerset issues and focus
The new challenges for Somerset include recent severe
floods and the general crisis in agriculture, exacerbated by
global warming and sea level rise.There is also a drive to
sustainable development and integrated rural development,
as well as new legislation emerging from Europe, such as the
Water Framework Directive.All of these factors affect the
area in different ways.Add in the various interests of all the
stakeholders and the urgent need for an integrated
approach to sustainable water management is evident.
The project has generated the best debate on water
management in 30 years, creating a new consensus
between conservation, farming, drainage and rural
community views. Settlements and strategic assets must
be protected from flooding while securing a farmed
freshwater wetland environment that restores and
maintains biodiversity.
The project area looked at the common ground amongst
stakeholders:
 Deep, prolonged floods benefit no-one.
 Whole sectors benefit from better flood management.
 Wetland habitats should be protected from tidal
inundation.
 A combined approach is needed as no single solution
will work.Contacts and Further information:
The Wise Use of Floodplains project is a trans-national partnership, in six project areas
throughout England, Scotland, Ireland and France.The objective of the project is to
demonstrate how floodplain wetlands could contribute to the sustainable management
of water resources within river basins. It highlights the importance of organisations and
communities working together to create a holistic and sustainable approach to the
management of water at catchment level and an important aim is to assist Member
States on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. For further
information, please refer to the ‘Wise Use of Floodplains Overall Guidance Note’.
For further information regarding this project, please refer to the sponsoring 
partners and organisations listed below:
Agence de l’Eau www.eaufrance.com
Birdwatch Ireland www.birdwatchireland.ie
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology www.nwl.ac.uk/ih
English Nature www.english-nature.org.uk 
Environment and Heritage Service www.nics.gov.uk/ehs
Environment Agency www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Institution Interdepartmentale pour l’Aménagement du Fleuve Charente
LPO www.lpo-birdlife.asso.fr
Ministère de l’Aménagement du Territoire et de l’Environnement
www.environnement.gouv.fr
Conseil Regionale de Poitou Garonne
Rivers Agency www.dardnt.gov.uk
RSPB www.rspb.org.uk
SEPA www.sepa.org.uk
SNIFFER www.sniffer.org.uk
Thames Water www.thameswater.co.uk
WWF www.panda.org/europe/freshwater
Disclaimer:
The project wishes to stimulate debate on the wise use of floodplains. However, the
views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the opinion of all the
Wise Use of Floodplain partner organisations.
Wise Use of Floodplains technical reports:
Hydrological Impact Assessment: Modelling the impacts of floodplain restoration
Participatory Processes: A tool to assist the wise use of catchments.
Policy Analysis:Analysing Barriers to Change: A tool to assist river basin planning
Options Appraisal: Lessons for floodplain appraisal
Further publications available from website or on CD 
from partner organisations:
Beneficial use of floodplains: Identification of appraisal techniques (RPA)
Participatory techniques for land use planning – a review (Mark Toogood)
Identification of techniques for appraisal of floodplain wetlands (RSPB)
Analysing barriers to change methodology (WUF)
A review of twelve WWF river restoration projects across Europe
(Christoph Zockler)
Policy and economic analysis of floodplain restoration in Europe – Opportunities
and obstacles (Tim Jones)
Hydrological model scoping study (CEH)
Cherwell catchment restoration scenarios (University of Southampton)
Hydrology guideline: Summary report to modelling the impacts of floodplain restoration
For further information, please visit www.floodplains.org or refer to the partner
organisations listed above.

Water Framework Directive

WFD CIS Guidance Document No.8
Public participation in relation to the Water Framework Directive
6. DEFRA Stakeholder Sounding Board, England 
Key- words
National stakeholder involvement.
Aim/objective of the project
The terms of reference for the Stakeholder Sounding Board says that it is a forum for 
stakeholders to: 
x provide input to DEFRA (Department for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) thinking 
on transposition, and related policy issues, of theWater Framework Directive (WFD);
x raise issues relating to the WFD of concern to the group; 
x provide input into development of a long-term strategy for the environmental quality of 
water - what it should cover, in what detail, risks and opportunities. 
Scale/unit of planning 
National – the Stakeholder Sounding Board considers WFD-related issues for the whole of
England. To date, no similar groups have been established in Scotland, Wales or Northern
Ireland.
Period
The Stakeholder Sounding Board was established in early 2001 after a request from a group 
of stakeholder organisations (including WWF-UK). There is no fixed timescale for the 
group’s existence.
Who participated and how (Degree/form of public participation) in what phase of the 
planning?
The organisations represented on the Stakeholder Sounding Board are: 
Government
DEFRA (Department for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)
Statutory agencies
Environment Agency (the government’s statutory agency for environmental protection in 
England and Wales) 
English Nature (the government’s statutory advisor on, and agency for, nature protection in 
England)
Private sector
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) 
Chemical Industries Association (CIA) 
Crop Protection Association (CPA) 
Country Land and Business Association (CLA) 
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) 
Water UK (the trade association for UK water companies and water authorities)
118WFD CIS Guidance Document No.8
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NGOs
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) 
WWF-UK
Other stakeholders
UK Centre for Economic and Environmental Development (UKCEED) 
Office of the National Consumer Council (ONCC)
Participation takes the form of regular meetings (approximately 3 or 4 a year), hosted in turn 
by different stakeholder Sounding Board members. The meetings are chaired by a senior
official from DEFRA. DEFRA also undertakes a secretariat function. 
Major input of stakeholders
Individual stakeholder organisations, or small groups of stakeholder organisations, can flag 
up issues for discussion. They are then invited by the Stakeholder Sounding Board to 
prepare a paper on the issue. The paper is discussed at subsequent meetings. 
DEFRA may also raise agenda items. 
Thus, WWF and UKCEED have prepared a paper on public participation; the RSPB and
others have prepared a paper on Wetlands and the Water Framework Directive; the RSPB,
WWF, Water UK and the NFU are currently preparing a paper on diffuse pollution.
Outstanding issues 
It is not clear what status these papers have within the government. Although the papers
include recommendations for action by government and other stakeholders, DEFRA have 
not made clear whether they will act on those recommendations, even if all stakeholder 
organisations agree with them. 
The relationship between the Stakeholder Sounding Board and the UK government’s internal 
technical advisory group on implementing the WFD has yet to be clarified. 
Lessons learnt 
A national forum that allows stakeholders to input directly into policy thinking is genuinely 
useful. It allows direct access to government officials and provides a mechanism by which 
government can assess the most important issues. For relatively little cost and effort this 
enhances the traditional methods of consultation and individual meetings with each
stakeholder organisation.
However, it is important that there is full transparency so that stakeholder organisations can
see how their ideas and concerns are considered and acted on (or not) by the Government.
At the moment, we are still working on this in the Stakeholder Sounding Board. 
For more information contact:
WWF UK, David Tickner, DTickner@wwf.org.uk
119WFD CIS Guidance Document No.8
Public participation in relation to the Water Framework Directive
7. The Wise Use of Floodplains Project in Somerset, England 
Our work was made possible through the award of a 50% grant from the EU LIFE Environment Fund
programme.
Inspiration points – this example is inspiring because:
In partnership with other initiatives this project facilitated a creative and positive dialogue
on the future management of flood events in a catchment, where previously stakeholder
views had been polarised for decades to the extent where the conflict had become notorious
in national environmental circles. 
Aim/objective of the project
The WUF Project’s aim was to encourage the wise use of water resources in river catchments
to benefit, people, their livelihoods and their environment. We set out to achieve this by: 
1. Generating new options for the sustainable management of flood events across the
catchment and annual water levels on the floodplain;
2. Testing public participation methods to find out what were the economic, social and
environmental costs and benefits of different options for managing flood events and
floodplain water levels.
The project, through its participatory approach helped to find out how the policies of the
government and European Union needed to be changed to promote sustainable management
of the catchment and its floodplain. Findings were passed to managers of river catchments
across Europe to enable their governments to implement the WFD. 
Scale/unit of planning 
The River Parrett Catchment in the county of Somerset, South West England. It is the largest
river system in Somerset covering 1665 km2, about half of the county area and containing
five major rivers: the Parrett, Isle, Tone, Yeo and Cary. The floodplain forms a significant
part of the Somerset Levels & Moors: - an area of international importance for wildlife.
Period: January 2000 – March 2002
Objective of Public Participation (Why PP?) 
In Somerset, the WUF Project developed new ways of helping stakeholders in the River
Parrett Catchment to find sustainable solutions through participation for the management of
water, both in flood events and throughout the year.
Who participated and how (Degree/form of public participation) in what phase of the 
planning?
The Project sought to involve “stakeholders” - anyone or any organisation, at whatever level,
with an interest in the management of water resources in the Parrett Catchment. Above all, it 
offered an opportunity for local concerns to be heard. Since the first participatory workshops
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started in 2000, a wide range of representatives of communities, local interests and 
organisations ranging from local to national government-level were involved. 
Methods and tools applied 
The WUF Project responded to what communities and individuals wanted. Working closely 
with an existing and (in the United Kingdom) unique forum for local democracy, the Levels 
& Moors Partnership*, we held participatory workshops to encourage stakeholders to share 
views and address problems in partnership. Workshops were managed through facilitative 
leadership: with the help of group management techniques, stakeholders were helped to 
work together in a non-conflict environment. The WUF Project Officer was the facilitator for
all participatory workshops. Contextual information such as new research on the
effectiveness of present flood management practices was introduced to help all stakeholders
to develop a common understanding of issues. 
Participatory working has to be product-orientated to be worthwhile. If a process is not
guided by the need to reach a common goal then it will drift and is unlikely to achieve 
results.
Stakeholders came to agree that no one solution would solve the problems of flood and 
water management, but that a comprehensive package of measures was needed. Facilitated
dialogue provided the bridge to enable a wide variety of interests to work jointly towards a 
common goal. 
To reach the desired goal of integrated flood and water management, a variety of solutions 
were generated in a series of participatory workshops. These solutions were built into a 
Parrett Catchment Action Strategy, which sets out what community and organisational
stakeholders wanted to be achieved by 2050”.
As collaborative working developed between local initiatives, the WUF Project and LAMP
managed participatory workshops under an umbrella initiative, the Parrett Catchment
Project.
It is estimated that the approximate cost of facilitating the dialogue over two years is 
approximately €30,000.00 (salary costs of project officer/facilitator). Workshop costs were
additional but low at approximately €150 – 180 for each event (hire of the venue and catering 
for around 40 participants). The overall cost is difficult to estimate accurately, because staff
from a variety of organisations donated their time to the initiatives involved. For the LIFE 
Project, the budget used to commission new research in Somerset was approximately
€75,000.00 and partnership organisations provided around €36,000 of in-kind time in support 
of the Wise Use of Floodplains Project. (Note: all of these figures are provisional.) In 
conclusion, the total cost of facilitating such a complex dialogue over a two-year period was 
remarkably low and the gains are far greater than the financial investment.
*LAMP serves 86 parish councils with wetland habitats on the Somerset Levels & Moors, 
who in turn represent all local community and organisational interests.
Major input of stakeholders at participatory events 
We invited 85 representatives of local communities and organisations to our workshops and
regularly saw 30 – 40 people at each event. The organisations ranged from the major

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government agencies to single-issue lobby groups. It was the first time in Somerset that
participatory working had taken place on such a scale.
Tangible result (effect) of PP? 
A series of 27 facilitated participatory workshops, which began in May 2000, produced: 
x A statement of the consensus between all stakeholder interests, which forms the
basis for a vision for the future management of the catchment and floodplain; 
x Eleven “components” or potential solutions to manage flood events, a 
combination of which will make up an Integrated Flood Management approach; 
x A detailed analysis of the policy, funding, administrative and technical barriers
and opportunities involving implementation of the eleven components; 
x Appraisal of the social, economic and environmental costs and benefits of each of 
the components; 
x Enhanced understanding among stakeholders of the implications of the
conservation management objectives necessary to achieve “favourable condition”
of the Special Protection Area (Birds Directive); 
x Initiated a productive dialogue on finding a new balance between agriculture and 
environmental interests to achieve favourable condition of the Special Protection
Area and Ramsar sites, while helping agriculture and other rural industries to 
work towards sustainable management of an internationally important wetland; 
x Produced practical sustainability indicators to monitor the effectiveness of 
changes in water and land management.
Many of these outcomes are continuing to be implemented beyond the end of the Life Project
and are resulting in practical land management and integrated catchment management for
the area. 
Lessons learnt 
Positive Lessons
x Make dialogue relevant to people’s lives.
In Somerset the project centred on a major environmental issue that affected a wide range of
stakeholders.
x Dialogue should be gradual and often.
Frequent small-scale dialogue is better than big one-off events. More flexible processes are
better at accommodating changes in views and developing consensus. Continuing dialogue 
is better at establishing and maintaining trust and helps to manage participants’ expectations 
of outcomes more realistically. 
x Maintain the momentum of the process.

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Ensure that the next stage in the participatory process can move on from the last one. Discuss
issues, generate solutions, appraise them, test them for sustainability and evaluate their
effectiveness once implemented.
x Create trust through impartiality.
This was critical to the success of the process in Somerset. It was the first time that water
management had been discussed in a neutral public forum. The WUF Project existed
between its sponsoring organisations (the LIFE Project partners): it was not seen as part of 
them. The role of the WUF project officer as an impartial facilitator gave stakeholders 
confidence that that they were taking part in a truly participative process and independent
process.
x Work to invest time. 
Constantly remind participants or potential participants of the need to invest time: without 
commitment the energy of the process will dissipate. Participants have been very committed 
to the Somerset process: thirty to forty key stakeholder representatives regularly attended
workshops.
Negative Lessons:
x Expensive one-off events can bring dialogue to a halt by delivering a “verdict” and may
not be appropriate in making progress on a particular issue in a particular context;
x Don’t become a discussion forum without a purpose – manage expectation;
x Avoid any one organisation leading a process so that the process does not have the
necessary impartiality needed to create trust amongst stakeholders.
Contacts for further information:
Barry Phillips, Rural Environmental Facilitation Service, b.phillips@tiscali.co.uk,
+44 (01934) 713864
See also www.floodplains.org

123http://www.floodplains.org/pdf/area_case_studies/SomersetLevelsCaseStudy.pdf