Bringing water resilience to life: a new partnership for Chalk to Coast
Water is becoming one of the defining challenges across the Chalk to Coast landscape - and it’s something we’re hearing more and more about from farmers, partners and communities alike.
From pressure on drinking water supplies to declining chalk stream health, diffuse pollution and increased flood risk, the issues are all connected. And crucially, they all start in the landscape.
The North Kent Downs sits right at the heart of this. As the recharge zone for a major chalk aquifer, what happens on these farms doesn’t just stay on these farms - it directly affects water quality, supply and flood risk all the way downstream to the Medway, the Thames Estuary and beyond.
So what can we do about it?
We think the answer lies in working together - and that’s why we’re developing a new Water Environment Partnership through Chalk to Coast, bringing together water companies, environmental partners and our cluster farms to co-design and deliver solutions that work at a landscape scale.
Farmers are already managing this land every day. With the right support and investment, they can also deliver a wide range of nature-based solutions - from creating wetlands, to improving soil health and slowing the flow of water through the catchment, working with natural processes.
Through the partnership, there’s also real potential to unlock new income streams for farmers via ecosystem services and green finance, while simultaneously supporting water companies to meet their AMP8 WINEP commitments and longer-term environmental targets
A clear plan for delivery
Our Water Environment Partnership proposal sets out a structured, phased approach:
Phase 1 will build the evidence base - understanding water movement, pollution pathways and opportunities across all farms
Phase 2 focuses on delivering nature-based solutions, from riparian habitat creation to natural flood management and soil improvements
Phase 3 ensures long-term monitoring and adaptive management, so we can track progress and keep improving over time
Inaugural Water Summit, 30th June 2026
On 30th June 2026 we brought partners together for our inaugural Water Summit.
It was a chance to share the proposal in more detail, explore how the partnership could work in practice, discuss priorities, opportunities and challenges, and start building the collaborations needed to take the partnership forward.
Whether you’re a water company, delivery partner, funder or stakeholder with an interest in water resilience in the catchment - reach out to us and take the opportunity to be part of something genuinely ambitious.